


If I Had The Chance

by demonic_crocs



Series: (if you had the chance) Would You Save Us? [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Asexual Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Different Killings, Different murders, Enoshima Junko Being Enoshima Junko, F/M, Gay Character, Gen, Graphic Description of Corpses, Graphic Violence, Hinata Hajime and Kamukura Izuru Share a Body Simultaneously, Hope™, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Jabberwock Island (Dangan Ronpa), Kamukura Izuru Has Feelings, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Kinda, Komaeda Nagito Being Komaeda Nagito, M/M, Monokuma (Dangan Ronpa) Being An Asshole, New Executions, One-Sided Sonia Nevermind/Soda Kazuichi, Pink blood? we dont know her, Random Updates, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Sorta split personality but not, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts, Violence, because Kamukura is a thing, but really inaccurate, chiaki nanami is a sweetheart and i love her, i change it all, if you didn't guess, kind ooc, sorry - Freeform, split personality, this gets dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:27:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24408034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonic_crocs/pseuds/demonic_crocs
Summary: Hajime Hinata doesn't know what's going on. He barely knows who he is, he has a voice in his head that definitely knows more then it lets on, and a stuffed bear is telling him and his classmates to kill each other. Although, to be fair, no one knows whats going on. All they do know for sure, is that they have to escape. No matter what.Or: The future foundations screws up the memory wipe, and Izuru Kamukura and Hajime Hinata have to coexist, which changes the killing game bit by bit.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Everyone, Hinata Hajime & Kamukura Izuru, Hinata Hajime & Komaeda Nagito, Hinata Hajime & Nanami Chiaki, Hinata Hajime & Pekoyama Peko, Hinata Hajime & Soda Kazuichi, Hinata Hajime & Tsumiki Mikan, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito, Kamukura Izuru & Komaeda Nagito, Kamukura Izuru & Nanami Chiaki, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko/Pekoyama Peko, Sonia Nevermind/Tanaka Gundham, Tsumiki Mikan/Hinata Hajime (One-sided), more relationships to be added - Relationship
Series: (if you had the chance) Would You Save Us? [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2110494
Comments: 115
Kudos: 612
Collections: Quality Fics





	1. Prologue: Listen To Me

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in the Danganronpa fandom, so hopefully it's all accurate and stuff. I havent played sdr2 in a while, so forgive any screw ups i make pls.  
> Also, this fic has some slight shipping, so pls respect that and don't come at me or anyone else for what we like. Nothing is way too explicitly stated, and is more so implied or referenced anyway, but still. try to respect the ships, and if you don't like it, dont read it (:  
> By the way, these chapters are gonna be decently long, so please forgive me if it takes like a few weeks for me to update.

_It could be so easy._

_Well, for Izuru Kamukura, everything was easy. But this, this was simple, it didn’t even require any manipulation or even hard thought. He could do it in an instant._

_And they’d never suspect anything._

_At least not until_ she _showed up, but even then, they couldn’t do anything about it. They would be trapped, unless they played by_ her _rules. It was easy and simple,_ despairingly _simple, she would have said. They never stood a chance, not against him._

 _He was_ tired _of it. It was all so boring, the despair he watched the others bring. It was predicable, just like everything else. The initial chaos was interesting, but even then, he knew that that would become predicable too. He could see every outcome, predict every problem, and find the solution before it even occurred. He didn't remember the past, and he didn't care about it anymore. Hajime was gone, the last remnants of him had died with Chiaki._ _._

 _But then the Future Foundation came. Well, no, Makoto Naegi certainly did not represent the whole organization, not when he was going against their orders. It was certainly interesting to see his conviction, his_ hope.

 _It was different from_ her, _the way she manipulated people. The Ultimate Hope didn’t even seem to realize it, which was even more interesting. He wanted to help them, the Ultimate Despair,_ fix _them._

 _He wondered if he would be alive to see_ her _showing herself, or if he would be killed early. Only one person would be able to make it out of the virtual world, and it would be most interesting to see who it would be_

 _There was a high likelihood of him not being able to witness the game, but in the end, he, or his past self,_ Hajime, _would decide._

_Izuru Kamukura looked down at the USB in his hand. It was time to choose._

_Hope, or Despair?_


	2. Ch. 1: (you need to) Wake Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not, i actually have the first three chapters already typed out! So I'll probably put the next one out tomorrow, and update on a weekly basis? Summer is coming up for me so I'll have a lot more free time when i'm not doing online school.

_Darkness._

_Darkness enveloped him, warm and almost comforting, if it weren’t for the sense of claustrophobia that was rising within him._

_What had happened?_

_Why was he here?_

_Slowly, slowly, he opened his eyes._

_He was met with brightness._

***

Hajime frowned, blinking rapidly. The brightness got a few moments to get used to, but when his eyes adjusted, he glanced around. He was… on a tropical island?

It certainly looked like it, palm trees swaying in the warm wind, waves crashing into the sandy beach, the sun shining down at him. It was all so confusing, yet strangely… familiar? Looking around again, he realized the beach was empty, not a single human in sight.

 _So they all left, I guess,_ he thought, remembering that he’d come here with his classmates. His brain quickly sorted through all of the memories of right before he’d came here. He had walked into the classroom at Hope’s Peak, he recalled, remembering that he’d been the last to show up. Then, after that… the stuffed rabbit had shown up, babbling on about school trips and teachers. The classroom had fallen away… and left them here.

 _Did I pass out or something?_ He wondered.

_ Yes.  _

Hajime jumped, looking around wildly, seeing if there was someone who’d spoken. No one was in sight. _Okay what the fuck._

_ Calm down, _

Frowning, Hajime pressed his palms to his eyes, whispering to himself, “Okay, I’m not crazy, I’m just hearing voices for some reason,” He groaned, wanting to just dismiss it, but something told him that he shouldn’t.

 _Your denial is boring._ The voice said, and Hajime felt a slight prickle of irritation, but almost as if it was foreign.

 _Who_ are _you? What is even happening? Why am I hearing voices out of nowhere?_ A rush of fear flooded his body, and his breathing hitched. Whatever was going on, it was giving him an awful feeling.

 _To answer your first question, I am Izuru Kamukura. Your memories of the past two years were supposed to be erased, but they appear to have botched the complete wipe._ The voice, Izuru, said flatly. Hajime’s breathing sped up, his mind working frantically to process the information.

 _You didn’t answer my last two questions! And who’s ‘they’? Why are my memories supposed to be erased? What do you mean, it got screwed up?_ Suddenly, Hajime’s body froze, posture straightening, and his previously near-hyperventilating ceased. His head looked up without his permission, and he saw his reflection for the first time on the island on the blank monitor. His face and hair were the same as he last saw them, but his eyes were suddenly red and empty, staring back at his own reflection.

“Calm yourself,” his voice left his mouth on its own accord, emotionless and deep. “Your panic is unwarranted.”

 _What the fuck, what the fuck, whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck,_ Hajime chanted, attempting desperately to move, but was unsuccessful. _Please explain what the hell is happening._

“I can take control of this body at any point I want,” His voice said, but Hajime was wondering if it was really even his voice anymore. “The closest I can compare this to is split personality or dissociative identity disorder. However, I will not be actively participating in the approaching game, and will only be a bystander.”

That… actually made a bit of sense to Hajime, but what did Izuru mean about the ‘approaching game’? Not to mention… _I thought split personality was mainly caused by abuse or really bad trauma. I don’t remember ever going through anything like that._

Suddenly, the presence that had wrapped around Hajime’s consciousness without him even realizing, receded, leaving him acutely aware of his body and surroundings. He tried moving his hand, and to his surprise, he could do so with ease.

 _Like I said earlier, your memories of the past two years were supposed to be erased. They appear to have done it only halfway, which explains why I am here. You don’t appear to remember the cause of my existence, seeing as it happened in the years you cannot remember._ Izuru spoke, only confusing Hajime more.

“Memory wipe stuff only happens in movies, though. I didn’t think it was possible to _do.”_ Hajime muttered, utterly confused. “Besides, why would anyone want to erase my memories? What would be the point of that?”

 _I would recommend you not speak to me out loud, unless you fancy being seen as crazy by your classmates._ Izuru advised, and Hajime could practically feel the mental eye roll.

_You didn’t answer my question._

_Your predictability is boring, I must say. Figure it out by yourself._ With that, Izuru retreated to the corner of their mind, unwilling to speak any more.

 _What the hell? Answer me!_ He demanded, but was interrupted by a voice from behind him.

“Hello? Are you all right?” Hajime turned to see a pale, skinny boy with fluffy white hair that stuck out in all directions. He was wearing a heavy jacket, which was odd, wasn’t he hot in the tropical sun? The boy walked closer, curiosity and concern flitting across his face. “You’ve been sitting here for a while,”

“O-oh, I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Hajime said quickly. “just still processing I guess.” _Wait that’s the guy who was in the back of the classroom earlier._

From the back of his mind, Izuru whispered, _Yes, I spoke to him before you woke up. Nagito Komaeda, the Ultimate Lucky Student of the class._

“That’s understandable, this is a really weird situation,” Nagito said, glancing around before turning his gaze back to Hajime. “I doubt you’d remember a nobody like me, but I was the one who woke you up earlier. You seemed pretty annoyed, so I left you alone.”

 _Izuru, what did you say to him?_ Hajime asked.

_ I merely told him to go away, you weren’t awake yet, and I am simply a bystander. I didn’t want him comparing our existences when no one should even know of mine.  _

“By the way, I’m Nagito Komaeda, Ultimate lucky student. I don’t think I actually introduced myself earlier, sorry.” Nagito said, smiling.

“Luck?” Hajime said involuntarily. _So you were right, then. How’d you even know?_

“I know, its not really much of a talent, huh? But Hope’s Peak sends out a raffle every year for one ordinary student to come to the school, and I won it. Originally I declined, but they insisted, so here I am,” he chuckled awkwardly. “Oh yeah, what’s your name?”

“Hajime Hinata.” He frowned. Why couldn’t he remember…? He had to have a talent right? Why else would he be in Hope’s Peak’s main course? But… _Izuru. Why can’t I remember?_

 _Again, they didn’t do the memory wipe correctly, so they’ve most likely cut out parts of your life other than just your time at Hope’s Peak. I wouldn’t know the exact amount of memories, or what they contained, seeing as I cannot access your memories, however._ Izuru explained, but there was something about it… it almost felt like he was hiding something from Hajime.

“What’s your talent?” Nagito asked curiously.

Hajime panicked slightly, unsure of what to say. Maybe it’d be better if he told the truth… but not about the whole memory situation, he didn’t even fully believe it himself. “Um… it’s actually kind of weird. I can’t remember my talent. I guess I hit my head really hard there.”

“Oh,” Nagito frowned, but seconds later, it vanished, leaving only a bright smile in it’s place. “I’m sure you’ll remember soon enough, though!” He seemed wholly unconcerned about Hajime’s lack of memory.

“Thanks…” Hajime thought it seemed a little strange that he just didn’t seem to care, but who knew what this guy was like, or what he cared about.”

Suddenly, a small explosion of pink light appeared beside them, revealing the rabbit creature that had claimed to be their teacher for the school trip. Hajime and Nagito both jumped, startled by the sudden appearance.

“Hello! I’m Usami, your teacher for this heart-pounding school trip!” The rabbit spoke in an obnoxiously high-pitched voice.

“What the fuck,” Hajime deadpanned, unsure if he should be disturbed at the prospect of a talking rabbit with wings and a stick, or laughing hysterically at the bizarre creature. 

“Oh, don’t you remember? She was explaining everything right before you passed out.” Nagito gestured to the tiny rabbit. “Apparently she’s the one who took us to this island, and is the supervising teacher on it.”

“Yeah, I remember, it’s just still weird to see a _talking stuffed animal.”_

“Hey!” Usami cried. “I’m not a stuffed animal, I’m your squeezably soft teacher!” 

“…Right.”

Usami suddenly brightened, and she began to speak, hopping around excitedly. “I came here to explain the e-Handbooks to Hajime! He was unconscious when I was talking to everyone else!” She pulled out a small electronic device from god knows where, and held it up. “This is your electronic handbook! Hence the name e-Handbook! The hope fragments you collect are in here, and so are the rules!”

Hajime frowned, when had he gotten one of those?

_ It’s in you pocket. I was the one who received it, not you. _

He reached into his pocket, and started. The e-Handbook _was_ inside his pocket. _Oh. Thanks, I guess._

“All right! Now That I’ve explained it, I better get going! Other people on the island might need my help! Farewell!” The rabbit disappeared into a cloud of pink sand, and Hajime could faintly hear her calling “Love-love!” as she vanished.

 _Okay… well then._

“Um… do you know where everyone else is? I was thinking that I should probably introduce myself.” He said, choosing to ignore what had just happened.

“Oh! Yeah, I can take you to them, and maybe show you around a bit, if you wanted?” Nagito asked, beaming.

Hajime attempted to smile, but it was more of a pained grimace, causing Komaeda’s brows to furrow in concern. “Yeah, sure. Thank you.” He said quickly, hoping that the taller boy didn’t comment on it.

Nagito nodded, still looking slightly concerned. “Okay, follow me!” He started walking away from the beach, more inland. Hajime quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind.

As they walked, Nagito started rambling on about something, but Hajime zoned out within the first minute, focusing instead on the boy in front of him. He seemed fairly nice at first glance, and he _had_ offered to show him around, but there was something… off about him. Like he was familiar, but he couldn’t place where they’d met.

 _I would advise caution around him._ Izuru said, and Hajime could feel his consciousness brushing against his own, like he was leaning forward to get a better look. _I have reason to believe that he is quite unstable. He is most likely to become a killer, but only for his twisted ideals. He’s quite cunning and is not above manipulating even the people he idolizes. Do not underestimate him._

 _What are you_ talking _about? Do you have_ any _proof to back this up?_ Hajime was slightly disturbed by how certain Izuru sounded. _Wait… have you met him before? Have I? Is that why he’s so familiar? And what do you mean, he’s likely to become a killer?_

_ Your questions are predictable. I don’t know why I expected any more from you.  _

_Okay, wow thanks for the insult, answer my damn question._

_ I have no proof for you right now, besides his self-deprecating statements being a hint at a more serious mental issue, so you have no reason to believe anything I say. And even if I did say that you had met him before, would you believe me?  _

_Probably not._ Hajime frowned. _But still… he’s really familiar._ “Hey, Nagito?” he said out loud. “Have we met before?”

An expression of shock flitted across Nagito’s face, but it was gone in an instant, replaced with his usual sunny smile. “Sorry, but I don’t think so. If I met an Ultimate, I would never forget it.”

“Hmm. Okay,” Hajime left it at that, not pushing the subject any further. What Nagito said seemed to confirm that they hadn’t met, but if what Izuru said about the memory loss was true… they could’ve easily met, and Hajime was almost inclined to believe him at this point.

“Ah, we’re here!” Nagtito voice broke through his thoughts. He looked up, glancing around quickly. They were at what appeared to be a ranch of sorts, a large sign with the words ‘Usami Corral’ painted on. There seemed to be two people inside of the fence, but Hajime couldn’t see their faces, and there appeared to be several chickens. It was nice, and Hajime would probably enjoy looking around, if it weren’t for Izuru’s suspicious comments, and the general feeling of unease about his memories.

“Well? Shall we go in?” Nagito asked, gesturing to the ranch.

“Yeah, sure,” Hajime nodded, following Nagito inside, slightly more cautious. As they entered, another explosion of pink light appeared, revealing Usami again. A slight twinge of annoyance flickered through his mind, and he was unsure if it was his own, or Izuru’s.

“Oh, it’s you again!” Nagito smiled, his voice sounding both passive aggressive and cheerful. His face gave away no trace of the smallest bit of irritation his tone betrayed. “Why’re you showing up now?”

Usami looked around the ranch, almost sadly. “I just… it doesn’t feel like a ranch without any moo-cows, you know!” She perked up, waving around her stick with a heart on top. “Oh! I know! I can use my magic stick to bring a moo-cow here!” She rattled off a string of gibberish, still waving her stick around, and one of the nearby chickens was engulfed in a sort of pink smoke. When it faded, it revealed a completely normal cow, grazing in the pen.

“What the hell?” Hajime stared in disbelief at the cow, glancing back at Usami who was looking very satisfied with herself. “How did you even do that?” he asked incredulously. The small rabbit didn’t reply, simply beaming, and disappearing in more pink light.

 _I’m going to get real sick of her soon,_ He thought, sighing.

 _Yes, she is quite boring._ Izuru rose up from the back of his mind, seemingly paying attention again. _I suppose they created her to be like that in the hopes that she would inspire us._

 _Who’s ‘they’? Who created her?_ Once again, Hajime’s questions were left unanswered.

“Don’t stress about it too much, Hajime. I’m pretty sure it was some kind of trick set up before we got here.” Nagito chuckled, seemingly unconcerned. “Let’s go introduce ourselves.”

Hajime nodded, following Nagito, who walked over to a small girl on the opposite side of the fence. She was crouched on the ground, and was pressing her thumb into the dirt repeatedly. Her blonde pigtails framed her childlike face, and complimented her orange kimono.

“Uh… I haven’t introduced myself yet right? My name’s Hajime Hinata, what’s yours?” He asked, looking down at her.

“Hm?” she glanced up, seeing both Hajime and Nagito. “Oh, I’m Hiyoko Saionji.” She instantly went back to pressing her finger into the ground after, completely ignoring the both of them.

“She’s the Ultimate Traditional Dancer, by the way,” Nagito said quietly. “She’s super popular, and she’s gone overseas to perform a lot. She’s got a lot of fans.”

“How’d you find that out?” Hajime asked curiously.

“There’s a bunch of threads online that have tons of information about some of the students, I did some research to see who was going to be in my class before we got here.”

“Huh, I didn’t realize that was a thing.” He paused. “Was there anything about my-“

“No, sorry,” Said Nagito, shrugging. “I didn’t look at all of them, so you probably were on there, I just didn’t see it.”

“Oh.” He turned back to the small girl, who was still doing… whatever it was that she was doing. “Hey, what’re you doing there?” he asked, frowning.

“Squishing all the Mr. Ants, duh!” She grinned up at him, eyes sparkling with gleeful malice. “If I squish them just right, they make this funny noise, too! Wanna join?” Her cutesy voice sounded so out of place saying it.

“No?” Hajime raised an eyebrow, glancing back at Nagito, who shrugged.

“Wimp,” she said simply, going back to squishing the ants.

Hajime slowly backed away, spotting another girl nearby. He walked over, Nagito trailing closely behind. He was slightly thankful that Izuru hadn’t said anything about Hiyoko, like he’d been expecting, though he didn’t want to get his hopes up.

“Hey Akane!” Nagito called at the taller girl. She glanced in their direction, and grinned.

“Yo! How can I help ya?” She was very laid-back and casual, flashing a peace sign at the two boys.

“I don’t think we’ve met yet? I’m Hajime Hinata,” Said Hajime, smiling tentatively.

“Cool!” she grinned wider. “The name’s Akane Owari! Nice to meet ya!”

Hajime tried not to be intimidated by her muscular physique, and ultimately failed. She was only a few inches shorter than him, but her eyes burned with an intensity that made her feel much taller, despite her casual appearance and words.

Akane turned to Nagito, frowning. “What’s your name again?”

A flash of shock flitted across Nagito’s face before he schooled it into a smile. “We already met, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, but I’m terrible with names, plus I’ve met so many interesting characters today!”

Nagito sighed. “I’m Nagito Komaeda, please don’t forget it next time?”

Akane gave him a lazy thumbs-up, her grin returning full force. “Gotcha! I’ll try to remember it!” She walked off, looking around the area again.

“She’s the Ultimate Gymnast,” Nagito explained. “They say she performs splendidly when she’s in her groove, but if she loses interest, she completely switches it up. She’s already being considered for the Olympics, too!”

“Huh…” Hajime frowned, gazing in her direction. It didn’t surprise him too much, honestly, she seemed like the type of person who’d be constantly spontaneous. With nothing else to say, the two walked out of the ranch, and continued down the path.

As they walked, Izuru suddenly spoke up, startling Hajime. _Akane Owari and Hiyoko Saionji. Akane is more likely to kill in an act of passion, but is quite reckless, and will probably be caught if she attempts it. Still, exercise caution, her physical strength quite outmatches yours, and her instincts prove to be correct most of the time. As for Hiyoko, she is fairly weak physically, and is most likely to become a victim. Though she preys on those who are weaker than her, she is also outspoken and harsh to anyone._

 _What the hell are you talking about?_ Hajime demanded. _Why’re you talking about killing and victims, and strength? Why would I ever need to consider those things?!_

Izuru sighed. _That will become clear to you soon enough._

_Yeah, ‘cause that’s so helpful._

Deciding to ignore the strange things Izuru had said, Hajime continued to walk beside Nagito in silence. He glanced around, taking in his surroundings. Everything seemed so perfect, the palm trees rustling in the wind, the waves crashing on the beach, and the warm sun shining down on them. It was almost _too_ perfect, and the whole island just felt unnatural. How had they even gotten here? _Why_ were they here? And what did Izuru know? He definitely knew _something._ And that wasn’t even including the whole memory situation, which Hajime didn’t want to believe, but it was the only thing that made sense, or the _idea_ of having someone inside his head, who could take control of his body at any point in time. That was a terrifying thought, one Hajime didn’t want to focus on.

Hajime shook himself out of his thoughts. He needed to get more information before he could answer any of his questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> catch me not knowing how the fuck to end a chapter lmao  
> Also, I've split up the introductions and prologue as a whole into two different chapters, didn't want it to get boring for yall. It felt kinda weird to skip over the introductions like i originally intended, so i put them in, because hey, they're kinda different with izuru around, i guess. Sorry if he's a bit OOC by the way, he's a hard character to write. 
> 
> Instagram: moronic_crocs


	3. Ch. 2: (it's not) What You Think

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the introductions. Monokuma shows his ugly face, and Hajime finally gets some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so, i said id update this like a day after i posted the second chapter. But, right as i finished it (It was even longer than it is now), my computer crashed, and deleted the entire fic. The whole thing. All of the chapters. So, ive been working on trying to get it back, and rewrite the third chapter. plus, after school ended, my mental health kind of took a hit, and i've been stressing over going to high school and stuff so like. That's a thing. sorry for the wait, I'm going to try and update more regularly.

As they walked, Hajime noticed a large building coming up, the words ‘Rocketpunch Market’ emblazoned on a sign. Nagito walked up to the entrance, and he quickly followed after a brief pause.

Inside the building, it seemed like a regular market. There were shelves lining the walls, almost making the place feel cluttered, and the displays had everything from food to surfboards on them. It was well stocked, and it would feel natural if it weren’t for the fact that there was absolutely no one there. Well, there were two people there, upon closer inspection. A purple haired girl with bandages on her arms and legs was looking through some beach supplies, and another girl with spiky black hair and several piercings was rifling through the food.

Nagito walked over to the second girl, Hajime following. “Hey Ibuki? You haven’t met Hajime yet, right?”

The girl, Ibuki apparently, spun around, and grinned brightly. “Nope!” She stared expectantly at Hajime.

“I’m Hajime Hinata, nice to meet you.” He attempted a smile.

“Ooh! My turn!” She bounced around excitedly. “’I’ ‘buki’ ‘Mio’ ‘da’! Put it together and what do you get? Ibuki Mioda!” she cheered.

She was bursting with energy, unlike anyone Hajime had met so far, but it was almost refreshing, infecting him with positive energy. This time, when he smiled, it was genuine.

“This market really has everything, huh? It’s pretty cool, I can get all the food I want here! Aw man, now I’m hungry! Ooh, ooh, is it bad that I’m getting excited too? Does anyone else get excited when they’re hungry?” She spoke at the speed of light, jumping from one subject to another.

“Ibuki’s the Ultimate Musician,” Nagito said, gesturing to her. “She was part of a super popular all-girl band, but she split from the group because of creative differences. She’s gained even more popularity since then, and Hope’s Peak has had her in mind for a while.”

“That’s cool,” Hajime said, noticing that Ibuki had gone back to looking through the food. He turned to see the purple haired girl staring at him from across the aisle. _What the… why’s she looking at me like that?_ He raised an eyebrow, and the girl squeaked, looking away quickly.

Curiously, Hajime went over to where she was standing. “Hi? I haven’t introduced myself yet, I’m Hajime Hinata.” He smiled slightly.

“Ahhhh!!” she gasped. “You a-actually talked to-to me! Oh, I-I’m sorry for staring at y-you, I-“

Hajime cut her off. “Hey, it’s fine, don’t worry. What’s your name?”

“O-oh, really? Th-thank you! And, um… I’m M-Mikan Tsumiki. From the bottom of m-my heart, I hope we can get along…” she stammered, smiling tentatively.

Hajime felt a bit bad for making her panic, and was close to apologizing, before curiosity took over, and he asked, “Hey, what’s your Ultimate?”

“O-oh!” Mikan looked startled for a second, before smiling again, this time more happily. “I-I’m the Ultimate Nurse! What a-about you?” The moment she asked, her smile vanished, and she froze in place. “I-I’m so so-sorry! I didn’t m-mean to be so pr-presumptuous as t-to ask you so-something like that! P-please don’t h-hate me!” she trembled, tears leaking out of her eyes.

“Wow, bullying a girl, Hajime? Not cool.” Nagito said, startling Hajime. He’d crept up behind him without making any noise.

“H-hey! I didn’t-“ he turned to Mikan, who was staring at him, fear in her eyes. “It’s okay for you to ask, don’t worry.”

Mikan relaxed a bit, wiping her tears away. “S-so you d-d-don’t hate me?”

“No! Why would I?”

“Th-thank you!” She beamed, clasping her hands together. Still smiling, she walked off, leaving Hajime and Nagito alone. _I didn't even answer her question..._

“Well, I think that’s everyone here, so shall we continue?” Nagito asked, gesturing to the door. Hajime nodded, and followed him out, and onto the path.

As they walked, Izuru began to speak again. _Ibuki Mioda is unlikely to cause any harm unless specifically provoked, and is more likely to be a victim rather than a killer. Her talent is almost useless in this situation, though she would be decently easy to manipulate. As for Mikan Tsumiki, she could be a valuable ally, her skills in the medical field being a great asset. She is easy to manipulate and intimidate, though if provoked, she could be a successful killer. She is quite smart, and her knowledge of the human body would make her a formidable opponent._

 _Again, what are you_ talking _about? Why are you even thinking about stuff like this?_ Hajime frowned, confused. _Are you going to bother telling me what the hell is going on?_

He could feel Izuru’s irritation at the question, and wasn’t at all surprised when he replied with, _You will see soon enough._ With that, he withdrew deeper into their subconscious.

As they continued to walk, Hajime studied his surroundings more. If they were on a tropical island, where exactly was it? And then he returned to the question of _how_ they got there and why they were even on the island in the first place. Sighing, he shook his head slightly to stop himself from going crazy.

Coming up in front of them was a large building that somewhat resembled an airport, Hajime followed Nagito inside, marvelling at how huge it was. He’d have never expected to see something like it on a tropical island like this. As they continued inside, he saw several airplanes out back, and a large sign hanging from the ceiling with the words, Welcome to Paradise painted on.

 _Wait, they have airplanes here! We could leave if we wanted to!_ Hajime thought suddenly, emotions spiking. Seconds later, doubt and scepticism brought them back down. _They probably screwed with the planes or something, there’s no way they’d just let us leave like that._

“Hey! Who’s this?” He jumped, hearing a voice directly next to him. He turned quickly, seeing a shorter boy with pink hair and a green jumpsuit. The boy had a carefree smile on his face, and he looked Hajime up and down, clearly wondering who he was.

“I’m Hajime Hinata. Nice to meet you.” He smiled nervously.

“Cool! The name’s Kazuichi Soda. I’m the Ultimate Mechanic. Nice to meet ya!” He said, flashing a thumbs up. Then, he frowned, turning to glance back at the airplanes. “This is a pretty weird situation, huh?”

“Yeah,” Hajime agreed. “But those planes- are we able to use them to leave, maybe?” He sounded pathetically hopeful, but he didn’t want to get too excited.

“Hm?” Kazuichi glanced back at the planes, his expression turning into one of disappointment. “Nah, sorry man, the engines are completely gone! If they’d been just tampered with or somethin’ I’d be able to fix it no problem, but that’s not the case.”

Hajime frowned. Despite him trying to not get his hopes up, he’d still felt downtrodden and upset. “To be honest, I was kind of expecting that, I guess,” He said, sighing.

“Yeah, me too. But now we do know that whoever did this planned it very extensively,” Nagito spoke up, gesturing to the airplanes. “They clearly knew what they were doing. But I’m sure nothing bad will happen, most of this seems pretty harmless.”

“True,” Hajime remarked, watching as Kazuichi strode off to continue investigating. Whoever did this had obviously gone to great lengths in getting them all here. But that still didn’t explain why, or how, or the lack of people on the island, or the rabbit, or-

 _Hajime._ Izuru’s voice cut through the fog that had gathered in his mind. _Calm down, you will receive your answers soon enough._

With that, he was gone, leaving Hajime with even more questions. But it _had_ effectively calmed him down, and for that he was grateful. _Thanks,_ he thought, and could’ve sworn he felt a flicker of satisfaction from Izuru.

“Hey Hajime?” Nagito asked. “Are you okay there? You kind of zoned out.”

“O-oh, yeah, I’m fine. All good here.”

“Hm. If you say so. Anyways, there’s still one more person in here.”

Hajime glanced around, spotting another boy facing away from them. “Oh. Let’s go then?” Nagito nodded, and the two walked over to the taller boy. “Excuse me? I’m Hajime Hinata, I thought I’d introduce myself to you.” He stated politely. Then the other boy turned around, and Hajime had to stop himself from crying out in shock.

The boy’s face was pale, a stark contrast to his dark hair that was curved upwards _somehow,_ a streak of white going through it, His eyes stared down at Hajime, both red and grey burning with a feverish intensity. And his clothing was by far the weirdest he’d seen so far, consisting of a thick jacket and maroon scarf that nearly touched the floor, with bandages on his hands. He was scary, making Hajime want to leave the room and ignore him.

“So, you want to know my name?” He laughed loudly. “Very well, I shall accept your courage. My name is… Gundham Tanaka! Remember it well, for it is the name that will one day rule this world!” he proclaimed loudly, and Hajime eyed him warily.

“Um… nice to meet you?” His reply sounded annoyingly like a question, but Hajime decided to ignore his lack of social skills until later. Gundham was still glaring at him intensely, which made it hard to focus.

“Now…” Gundham said, raising an eyebrow. “I will ask a question of my own. Which tribe did you make a pact with?”

“ _What?”_ Hajime was completely bewildered by the question. What did he even _mean_ by it?

“Whose master are you?”

 _Hajime, he’s asking if you had a pet._ Izuru’s tone was exasperated.

 _Oh._ “Um… I don’t think I’ve ever had a pet, no.” He said cautiously. He didn’t honestly remember if he had or not; his memories were still jumbled, and he would rather go through them later, as opposed to now, while strangers were present. Thankfully, Gundham only frowned, and didn’t question him further, perhaps seeing the minute distress in his eyes.

Hajime bid the taller boy farewell, and walked out of the airport, Nagito following. As they made their way to the next building he could see, he asked Nagito, “What is Gundham’s Ultimate? He didn’t say.”

“Oh! He’s the Ultimate Breeder. I saw some hamsters nearby, they must have been his. I’ve heard he can tame any animal, even if he’s a little odd.” Nagito explained.

Hajime nodded, caught up in his thoughts. Two more Ultimate students… how many of them were on the island? He probably should remember, but like the rest of his memories, the moment he entered the classroom was half buried in a fog. From the second he got onto the island, he felt like he was in a daze, or like he was dreaming. It would probably go away soon, but at the moment, it was very disconcerting.

 _Well, we met two more people. Aren’t you going to do one of your creepy analyzing rant things?_ Hajime thought with a hint of sarcasm.

_ Do you want me to? _

_No, but you’ll probably do it anyway, right?_

_ Yes.  _

Hajime laughed to himself. _Go on then, I guess._

_ Well, Kazuichi’s a coward. If he isn’t killed within the day, he’ll most likely hide in his room if he can help it. He won’t be killing anybody.  _

_Wow, you’re just ripping right into him, aren’t you._

_ Be quiet. Kazuichi might be nice, but he’s quite useless when it comes to life-threatening situations. He’s far more likely to end up as a victim. As for Gundham, he might be intimidating, but he really just puts on an act. I doubt he would go as far as to kill someone at first. If he did, it would be for a noble reason, at least noble in his mind. However, he would be dangerous to try and kill if he wasn’t immediately taken by surprise. He’s fairly strong, and unless his attacker was stronger than him, or trained in combat, he would most likely beat them.  _

Hajime frowned. Is _there anyone on the island who is trained in combat, then?_

_ Yes.  _

_Oh, well that’s comforting._

_ You were the one who asked.  _

_I know that!_ Hajime sighed, turning his attention to the next building, or less of building, and more of a fenced off area. Nagito led him through the gate, and Hajime paused to take it in. There were what looked like small houses lined up on the sides, a walkway leading to a large building through the middle. He walked forward, and noticed words on the entrance. It read, ‘Hotel Mirai’. It seemed nice enough from the outside, and Hajime admitted to himself that he was looking forward to seeing the inside too.

“Wow, this is a really nice hotel, huh?” Nagito asked, coming up beside him. “When we were told we had to live here, I was sort of worried we’d have to pitch a tent or build a shelter, but if we can just sleep in as grand of a place as this, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

“You’re accepting living here way too fast,” Hajime muttered, frowning. “we don’t even know why we’re here yet.”

Walking around the pool, Hajime noticed a short boy with blond hair and a dark suit on the other side, and headed over. As he neared, the boy turned to face him, and scowled.

“Who the hell are you?” he sneered, glaring at the two of them. Hajime frowned at the rudeness, and the boy turned his gaze onto him. “What’re you lookin’ at, huh? You got something to say, dumbass?”

 _What is_ wrong _with this guy?_ He thought briefly, before Nagito started speaking.

“Relax, Fuyuhiko. We’re just here to introduce ourselves.” He held his hands up in a placating gesture.

“Fine… Name’s Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. And just so we’re clear, I’m not acting friendly and shit with you guys.” He snarled.

Nagito elbowed Hajime. “Fuyuhiko’s the heir to the Kuzuryu clan.” He said quietly.

“Wait, really? They’re-“

“Yeah, I know. He’s the Ultimate Yakuza, too.”

Hajime raised an eyebrow. That was a talent?

“Hey bastards, if we’re done here, how ‘bout you both make like a tree and fuck off, huh?” Fuyuhiko glared up at them. Hajime resisted the urge to laugh at how he butchered the phrase, and complied.

He noticed another person, a redheaded girl, looking around near an old wooden building nearby, and walked over. She turned, facing him. The second she saw him, her expression turned to one of annoyance. “Aren’t you that guy who was sitting at the beach earlier, ignoring everyone?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“U-um… yeah.” Technically, it was Izuru who was doing that, not him, but he’d rather no one know about Izuru just yet. Not until he got more answers.

“You really have to keep it together. Us girls have to count on you boys to keep us safe, you know?” She looked him up and down, looking distinctly unimpressed.

 _That’s a little unfair._ Hajime thought, frowning.

“Let’s see… you want me to introduce myself, right? Well, I’m Mahiru Koizumi. I’ll be counting on you from here on out.” She smiled slightly.

“Mahiru’s the Ultimate Photographer, by the way,” Nagito explained. “She’s gotten a lot of awards for her pictures, and has a really promising future as a photojournalist.”

“That’s pretty cool…” Hajime trailed off. He kept forgetting that a lot of his classmates here were famous or well known, like Ibuki, Hiyoko, Mahiru and Fuyuhiko. It made him feel slightly out of place.

“I’m glad you two seem decent enough, you know,” Mahiru said, laughing.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“Oh, it’s just… there’s a lot of crazy people here, I can’t tell if they’re actually Ultimates or just, like, insane. I want to get along with everyone so we can get off this island, but I was sort of worried it wouldn’t work out.”

“Get off the island…?”

“Oh, you don’t know? That rabbit thing said it earlier. Once you finish collecting those hope fragments you get from being friends with everyone, this joke of a trip is over, and we get to leave!”

“Wait, seriously? That’s it? She really meant it?” Hajime asked incredulously.

“Geez, weren’t you paying attention? This stuff is important!” She scolded him, hands on her hips.

“Well,” Nagito said thoughtfully. “Now that you know this, you must feel pretty relieved, huh?”

“Not really. Why do we have to do something like that? I mean… why go to all the effort to bring us here, only for that to be the end goal? It doesn’t make any sense.” Hajime pointed out. _Not to mention… we were told to ‘forget about Hope’s Peak’… What is the point of any of this, really?_

“Hey, I’m still waiting for your name, you know.” Mahiru said, frowning at him.

“Oh, sorry. I’m Hajime Hinata.”

“Hmmm… sorry to disappoint you, but I’ve already decided to remember you as ‘Unreliable Hajime’. You better man up and try hard if you want to change my mind.” With that, she left, giving Hajime one final glare as she walked away.

“What’s her deal?” He grumbled, scowling to himself.

Nagito laughed softly, and pointed across the pool. “There’s someone else out here, you should introduce yourself to them too.” Hajime glanced across, seeing a tall, muscular person standing there. He nodded, following Nagito over.

“Hmm, I don’t think I’ve introduced myself to you yet…” The man said as they approached. “I am the Ultimate Team Manager, NEKOMARU NIDAI!!!” he bellowed.

“U-um, hi. Nice to meet you, I’m Hajime Hinata…” Hajime trailed off, feeling extremely unnerved by how tall Nekomaru was.

“Hold it!” Nekomaru shouted, pointing at Hajime. “Your voice is too soft! Repeat it, let your voice rise from the bottom of your stomach!”

Hajime sighed, but did as he was asked. “I’m Hajime Hinata!!” he yelled.

Nekomaru nodded approvingly, grinning. “That’s it!! Great job!!” he gave him a thumbs up.

“Okay…” Hajime backed away, smiling awkwardly. They left quickly, walking over to the hotel next. God, _why_ were so many of these Ultimates so _weird?_ He didn’t know what he’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t this. So far, the only people he even considered to be normal were Nagito, Mahiru, and maybe Kazuichi.

 _Don’t assume anyone here is normal in any way._ Izuru warned.

_And why not?_

_ Because no one  _ is _normal, obviously. It is dangerous to assume such things._

_What do you mean by that?_

_ Because the second you start to assume those types of things, you are allowing yourself to become vulnerable. Even those you think are ordinary here are far from it.  _

_How do you know?_

_ Because I was made to analyze things, for one, and because I have  _ seen _everyone here do things no one would consider to be at all normal._

 _That isn’t ominous at all._ Hajime shuddered, trying to ignore the implications of Izuru’s statement. _Are you ever going to tell me what you mean by that?_

_ No.  _

Hajime sighed. _Are you going to do your analyzing thing again now?_

 _If you insist,_ Izuru said, ignoring Hajime’s burst of indignation. _Fuyuhiko is not going to be much of a threat by himself. His physical strength is quite low, and he mainly relies on Peko to do his dirty work. I doubt he would kill anyone himself unless he has extremely strong motivation. And if he ordered Peko to do so, it would be pointless because only she would be able to leave._

_Wait, wait. Who’s Peko? Why’s she important?_

_You’ll meet her soon enough. Do you want me to finish or not?_ Hajime relented, allowing Izuru to continue. _Mahiru is practically useless in this situation. She only has average physical strength, her talent is of no use, and she doesn’t have enough courage to actually kill someone. She does not approve of killing, though she would be willing enough to help cover up for someone if she considered them to be a friend. And as for Nekomaru, he has the strength and training, so if he wanted to, he could certainly kill someone. There are only two people here who would be able to beat him in fight, though it would still be hard. However, he cares about others too much, and is unlikely to murder unless it was for the sake of another._

 _Wait, is Nekomaru one of the people you mentioned earlier? Like, the people with ‘combat training’ or whatever you called it?_ Hajime frowned to himself. _Who are the others?_

 _Technically, you already met one. Akane if formidable in a fight, though she mainly follows her instincts, and is easily distracted. You were correct about Nekomaru, and Peko is the Ultimate Swordswoman, so that’s self-explanatory._ Izuru listed them off in a bored tone.

_Anyone else?_

_ Yes, me.  _

Hajime choked on the air he was breathing in, and coughed, earning a concerned look from Nagito as the walked into the hotel. _What?!_

 _Why is that hard to believe?_ He got the impression that Izuru was glaring at him. _You know virtually_ nothing _about me, nor my existence. I have many abilities, ones that you would need to work extremely hard at to attain._

Hajime was taken aback, surprised at how bitter Izuru sounded. It felt odd, hearing the new emotion in his voice. He sounded so bored and disinterested every time he’d spoken to him, it was weird to hear him sound so… human. He was about to apologize, but Nagito began to speak.

“Do you want to go inside? I think I see some people in the lobby.” The white-haired boy gestured up at the stairs that led to the hotel.

“Oh, sure…” Hajime followed Nagito up the stairs and into the lobby, glancing around. It looked very clean, with a few chairs and tables in the corner, and stairs leading up to another part of the hotel. Cool air was blown down on him by the ceiling fans, and he frowned. _I guess electricity won’t be a problem… but why is there practically no one here?_

He looked around a bit more, spotting a girl with braids and a dark uniform. As he walked over, she turned around to face him warily. “State your business,” she said firmly, meeting his gaze.

Hajime smiled shakily. “I just came over to introduce myself,” he explained. “Is that all right…?”

She nodded, visibly relaxing. “Go ahead.”

“I’m Hajime Hinata, nice to meet you,”

“My name is Peko Pekoyama. It is nice to meet you too.” She straightened, allowing Hajime to see the long bag strapped to her back.

 _Wait, so this is the Ultimate Swordswoman you mentioned?_ He asked Izuru.

_ Yes.  _

“She’s the Ultimate Swordswoman, by the way,” Nagito said quietly, unaware that Hajime already knew. “I’ve heard even most adults can’t stand a chance against her.”

All that served to do was make Hajime more worried about whatever was coming. What he’d gathered from Izuru’s analysis so far, didn’t paint a pretty picture. Killings, the likelihood of someone being a victim or murderer, and what he’d mentioned about getting off the island all seemed to point towards the people on the island killing each other to get off. But why, and how? It didn’t make any sense, and he knew Izuru wasn’t going to answer him any time soon.

“So, if we are all to live here together,” Peko interrupted his thought process. “it will be necessary for men and women to have respect for one another, yes? Do not try anything inappropriate. I would hate to kill someone…” Her voice lowered into a more threatening tone.

Hajime flinched. That hit too close to what he’d been thinking. He remembered what Izuru said earlier, and knew that Peko would most likely not hesitate to do something like that. Distantly, he nodded, and walked away.

 _I assume you’ll say that she’ll go ahead and murder someone, then?_ He asked Izuru, glaring at the floor.

_ You assume correctly. She won’t do it without Fuyuhiko’s permission though.  _

_Why Fuyuhiko? Do they know each other?_

_ Yes, they grew up together, Peko is practically his personal hitman. She serves him above all else. But I suspect that they will likely pretend that they do not know each other here.  _

_What the hell? You mean she’s killed people for him before?_

_ Yes, that’s what a hitman does.  _

Hajime inhaled sharply, trying to calm down. Knowing that two of his classmates had probably killed many people was slightly overwhelming, and it only added to the situation that he was already in.

“Hajime, are you okay? You look a bit sick,” Nagito asked, concern colouring his voice. “Do you need to sit down?”

“No, I’m fine, don’t worry. Just overwhelmed, you know?” He chided himself for his flimsy excuse, but it wasn’t like he could announce to the world that Peko worked for the Ultimate Yakuza without any proof.

Nagito nodded understandingly. “That makes sense, I bet everyone is feeling like that. But cheer up, we still have a few more people to talk to!”

Hajime nodded, looking up, seeing another girl in the opposite corner, absorbed in an arcade game she was playing. He walked over, awkwardly waiting for her to notice him. Nagito waved his hand in front of her, trying to get her attention.

“Hm?” She finally looked up from her game and turned around to face them.

 _So that’s what they did._ Izuru’s voice suddenly echoed through his mind. He sounded… odd. Almost choked. Again, a wave of déjà vu hit him, and he realized that the girl looked extremely familiar. Seeing her face almost made him want to cry, but he had no idea why he would want to. He’d never met this girl before.

 _Izuru? Are you okay?_ He asked nervously. There was no response. He forced himself to pay attention to what was happening, deciding to focus on Izuru later.

“Sorry,” The girl was saying. “I was a little too focused on my game…”

“A little? Are you sure about that?” Nagito asked jokingly.

She gave him a small smile before turning to Hajime. “Right… introductions. Got it. I’m Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer… nice to meet you.”

The second she said her name, a wave of emotion crashed into Hajime. Sadness and guilt tangled together as he studied her closely. He should know her… he did know her. But he couldn’t remember. Confused, he turned to Izuru for answers, but before he could ask anything, he realized that the emotions he was feeling were coming from Izuru.

Snapping out of it, he schooled his expression into one of politeness. “Nice to meet you. I’m Hajime Hinata.” After a split second of hesitation, he continued. “I’m sorry, but have we met before? You seem really familiar.”

Shock and alarm flitted across her face, before her expression hardened, and she shook her head. “I don’t think so, sorry.” Abruptly, she turned back to her game, ignoring them.

 _Okay…_ Hajime glanced at the stairs in the corner. “How many more people do I have to meet?” He asked Nagito.

He frowned. “Hmm… I think there’s three more people, there’s only sixteen people in the class.”

“Okay,” Hajime pointed at the stairs. “Want to go up there and see if anyone’s there?”

Nagito nodded, and followed Hajime as they went up the stairs. When they reached the top, Hajime looked around, impressed. They were in what appeared to be a restaurant, with large windows that gave a clear view of the blue sky.

“Wow… this place is huge,” Hajime commented. He looked to his right, and spotted two people. One of them was short, wearing what looked to be a chef’s hat and clothes, and seemed to be in a heated conversation with the girl, who was tall, with long blonde hair.

“…That’s right, I’m having a hard time because it’s full of poison. It really does suck,” the short boy was saying. “Speaking of which, it’d be great if you could use your mouth to suck it out…”

The girl frowned, confused. “Poison… I see,”

Hajime walked over quickly, interrupting their conversation. “Hey, do you guys have a moment?” he asked, noticing the short boy’s expression fall. _I really don’t want to know what they were talking about…_

“Hello, it’s very nice to meet you,” The blonde girl said politely.

Hajime nodded. “Nice to meet you too. I’m Hajime Hinata.”

“Why hello there,” The boy said, grinning up at him. “You must be the new guy. My name is Teruteru Hanamura. I’m usually known as the Ultimate Cook, but could you guys call me the Ultimate Chef? It’s got more of a big-city flavour to it, you know?” Then, to Hajime’s surprise, the boy winked at him.

Hajime was about to reply when the girl spoke. “That reminds me, I have not properly introduced myself, I am terribly sorry. My name is Sonia Nevermind. I am an exchange student from a small European country called Novoselic, but I very much so hope that we can get along!” she smiled brightly.

“She’s actually the princess of Novoselic, which makes her talent the Ultimate Princess,” Nagito explained.

“Wow, really? That’s cool,” Hajime said, smiling at Sonia. She seemed very relaxed, and she gave him the sense that she was easy to talk to.

“Thank you! But, really, I am quite happy. In my country, I did not have any friends who matched my standing in society. So doing something like this with others… I’ve never done anything like it! I am very excited for it!” She beamed.

“Hey you three! Am I being left off the menu here?” Teruteru exclaimed.

“Oh! Sorry, Teruteru,” Nagito said, glancing down at him. “Actually, I was wondering, as the Ultimate Chef, do you like the kitchen here?”

“Well…” He smirked. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested. And I am not a liar, so yes, I like it. The country atmosphere is splendid!”

Hajime frowned. “Are you guys worried at all?”

“Nope!” Teruteru proclaimed, grinning. “In fact, I’m very happy! You see, I have a suspicion that Miss Peko is a bit of a freak, if you catch my meaning.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

 _Gross,_ Hajime thought.

“And adding onto that, I think Miss Sonia here will be very easy to manipulate. Everyone knows that princesses are basically groomed to lack common sense, so I could, for example, tell her my ‘loins’ are full of poison and ask her to suck it out…”

“Okay, shut up.” Hajime looked down at him with disgust.

“What is he talking about?” Sonia asked, glancing at Hajime and Nagito.

“We’ll discuss this later!” Teruteru cried, running off down the stairs.

 _Okay…_ Hajime made a mental note to stay away from Teruteru. “Is there anywhere else on the island for us to go?” He asked Nagito.

“Oh!” Sonia exclaimed. “There is a central island that is connected to this one by a large bridge! Have either of you been there yet?”

“There’s another island?” Hajime frowned. _Why would there be another one?_

Nagito grinned. “Well, let’s go find the bridge, then!”

As they said goodbye to Sonia, and began walking to the bridge, Hajime realized that Izuru hadn’t spoken once since they’d met Chiaki. That was odd, from what he’d seen from Izuru so far.

 _Izuru? What the hell is going on with you?_ He asked, his worry intensifying.

 _It does not matter. You will find out soon enough._ Izuru’s reply was clipped, almost defensive.

_Did you know that girl? What happened with you two?_

_ It does not matter.  _

_That isn’t an answer._

There was a pause. _Very well. We both knew her. You just do not remember._

_But why can’t I remember? Who messed with my memories?_

_ Your questions are far to repetitive. It is quite boring.  _

Hajime’s anger flared. _What is with you? Why are you always talking about how people are going to murder each other, or how you’re bored?_

 _ Because people  _ will _murder each other, and because I can already predict_ every single way _they will do it._

With that chilling statement, Izuru retreated into the depths of their subconscious. Hajime was more on edge than ever, the implications of what Izuru said churning within his mind. He barely noticed as they reached the bridge, and crossed it, and didn’t snap out of his trancelike state until Nagito elbowed him in the ribs.

He realized that they were standing in front of a tall, blond man with glasses and a white suit. “Hey, Byakuya, do you have time for some introductions?” Nagito was asking, looking pointedly at Hajime.

As the man, Byakuya apparently, nodded, Hajime cleared his throat. “U-um, I’m Hajime Hinata.” He said, trying to not let his swirling emotions show in his voice.

“Hmm…” The blond man surveyed him in silence for a few seconds, before speaking. “My name is Byakuya Togami…” he trailed off, glancing down at Hajime in disgust. “That’s it, right? We’re done.” He walked off, ignoring them completely.

“Well, that’s Byakuya for you, I suppose,” Nagito said lightly.

“What do you mean?” Hajime asked curiously. He really wished he’d looked up who his classmates were beforehand, so he wouldn’t have to ask Nagito or Izuru what their deal was every time.

“Oh, well he’s the next in line to inherit his family’s company. He’s pretty special, even here. It’s really quite accurate to call him the Ultimate Affluent Progeny.”

Suddenly, there was a loud ringing noise that echoed through the park. _Was that a school bell?_ Hajime wondered, looking around to determine the source.

“Hey Hajime, look at the monitor over there,” Nagito pointed behind him, at one of the many monitors’ he’d seen throughout the islands. As he turned to look at it, the screen lit up, showing an image of Usami, the weird stuffed rabbit that claimed to be their teacher.

“Congratulations everyone!” Her voice was slightly altered by the speakers, but it was still as annoying as ever. “It appears that everyone has collected the Hope Fragments by meeting everyone! I’m- I’m so happy!” She sniffed obnoxiously. “So, I’ve prepared a present for all of you that’ll make you very happy! Please gather at the beach for it! And my shining hope be with you all!” She gave a high pitched laugh as the video cut out.

“Well, she said to meet at the beach, so I guess we should go,” Nagito shrugged, beginning to walk off. Hajime followed, but the seed of dread was growing in the pit of his stomach. He had a really bad feeling about going to the beach, but he knew it’d look weird if he was the only one who didn’t go.

As they arrived at the beach, he realized that everyone else was already there, but he supposed that they were the farthest away, so it made sense.

“Ah,” Byakuya said as they came closer to the group. “Now that you’ve arrived, this is our only chance to talk between ourselves before the rabbit returns. What were all your impressions of the island so far?”

Peko spoke up, frowning thoughtfully. “I noticed that several bridges leading away from the central island were blocked off,”

“Oh! Those are there so people don’t get lost! The rabbit told me so!” Ibuki explained cheerfully. Hajime hadn’t even noticed the blocked off bridges, he’d been too focused on Izuru.

“Well, if you really think about it, this is basically a normal island!” said Kazuichi. “It’s got a resort and everything!” 

“Yeah, and it’s got a huge ranch!” Hiyoko added on.

“A-and the supermarket h-has plenty of su-supplies!”

“The hotel is big too, it’d be great if we stayed there.”

Byakuya sighed. “Fools, all of you. None of you have mentioned the most serious truth.”

Everyone began to speak at the same time, many of them wondering what he’d meant, and some who were objecting to being called fools (Fuyuhiko). Hajime sighed as the beginnings of a headache began to form.

“Be quiet!” Byakuya shouted, glaring at them. “You all have gone to the park across the bridge, yes? And you saw the bronze statue? When I saw it I remembered something I’d been told before. There’s a series of islands in the pacific ocean, connected by one central island. It was said that each of the islands represent a holy animal. It was called Jabberwock island.”

“You mean this island…” Nagito trailed off, confused.

“This is Jabberwock island then?” Hajime finished.

“Most likely… but there is something still on my mind,” Byakuya frowned. “According to what I’ve heard, Jabberwock island is already…” he stopped, a contemplative expression coming over his face. “Never mind.” He muttered.

“Wait a second! That story is far from complete!” Nekomaru objected.

Byakuya sighed. “No need to shout, I’ll explain when I obtain more information.”

“It really doesn’t matter what the island is called, we still gotta live here, ya know?” Akane said, shrugging.

“Yeah! Living together will be exciting!” Ibuki cheered.

“Yeah, this really isn’t that bad after all!”

“Since there’s no danger or inconvenience, this won’t be a problem!”

Everyone began to vocalize their agreement, but Hajime felt more uneasy than ever. Maybe it was because of what Izuru had told him, or the suspicious things Usami had said, or the general _weirdness_ of the place, but Hajime was a few minutes away from the panic attack he’d been delaying since he’d gotten here.

Suddenly, the rabbit appeared in a burst of light, causing Hajime to jump. “I’m so glad you all are getting along!” she cried. Hajime groaned, massaging his temples. Her voice was really grating on his ears, adding to his headache.

“Ooh, where’s the present you promised us?” Ibuki clapped her hands in excitement.

“Here it is!” Usami said, holding up what looked like a keychain with a small version of herself on the end. “Don’t worry, I’ve prepared one for everyone!”

There was silence for a few seconds, before Nagito spoke up. “What… is this exactly?”

Usami beamed. “It’s an Usami Strap! Isn’t it cute?”

“What a waste of time,” said Byakuya, rolling his eyes.

“Really? I think they’re cute,” Chiaki took hers, and smiled.

Everyone else tossed theirs’ on the beach, mumbling about how they got their hopes up. Usami sadly began to collect them. “I even had another present ready, but now I don’t want to give it to you,” she said, sniffling.

“Hm? You have something else?” Peko asked curiously.

“W-well, it’s not that big of a deal, compared to the Usami Staps, but basically, I prepared a motive for you all to get along! Here!” She produced some swimming bags out of nowhere, and handed them out. “I have swimsuits for everyone! Well, school swimsuits, but I hope that’s okay!”

Several people cheered, and ran off to the hotel, presumably to get changed. A few people styed at the beach, but dispersed amongst themselves, leaving Hajime alone. Sighing, he sat in the sand, under the shade of a palm tree. Everything seemed perfect on the island, so he didn’t fault anyone for wanting to swim, but he couldn’t bring himself to join in when he felt so anxious.

 _Hey Izuru? What exactly is going to happen?_ He asked, not really expecting an answer.

_ You will find out soon enough. And besides, I have given you plenty of hints.  _

_Okay, true, but I don’t really want to believe what you’re implying. But why can’t I remember things? Why would the people who put us here do that?_

_ To erase me, and other reasons.  _

_Reasons that I’ll ‘find out soon enough’, right?_

_ Yes.  _

_But why would they want to erase you?_

Izuru paused. Hajime distantly noticed that everyone who’d changed had come back to the beach, and were currently playing in the water. A distant part of him wanted to join in, but the rest of him knew that he needed to get answers. This was no time to go swimming.

_ They have wiped everyone else’s memory as well. They do not remember going to Hope’s Peak. With us, they botched the wipe. That allows me to still exist, and for you to remember small bits of your time at Hope’s Peak. However, due to their failure, there may be consequences involving both of our memories. _

_That does make sense, I guess. As crazy as it sounds. But the fact that I can’t remember you is proof of it, I suppose._

Hajime looked up at the bright blue sky. There wasn’t a cloud in sight. It seemed too perfect. He could hear his classmates laughing, and the splashing of water, all of them blissfully unaware of whatever was coming.

Suddenly, the sky grew cloudy. The wind picked up, making Hajime shiver. Everything got darker, and the previously calm sea began to churn and roil. Standing up, he realized that the feeling of pure dread had almost reached it’s peak.

“What’s happening?” He asked, glancing around at his classmates, who were equally confused.

“I don’t know…” Nagito walked up beside him, staring at the sky in concern.

“W-what? Th-this shouldn’t be happening! What’s going on?” Usami cried, looking around fearfully.

Just then, the monitor on the tree crackled to life, static filling the screen.

“Ahem! Mike check, mike check!” A garbled voice came out of the speakers, filling Hajime with terror. The voice was far too cheery to seem natural, and underneath it, there was an intense malice that seemed to surround all of them. Hajime shuddered.

“Puhuhuhu… surprised? Oooh, you were totally surprised! Now then! I’m sooooo sorry to keep you all waiting! Let’s all leave this worthless entertainment behind, and head to the main attraction! You all better hustle it over to Jabberwock Park, all right?” Hajime could practically hear the _‘or else’_ that was left unsaid.

“Wh-what? How could he- no, no, no, this is very bad! I have to do something!” Usami cried, vanishing in a burst of light.

 _Izuru, what’s happening?_ Hajime asked.

There was a pause, before Izuru finally responded with words that struck fear deep into his heart.

_ It’s starting. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhh, its finally starting!!!  
> Ok, so. Longer chapter. I'll be working on this a LOT more, dont worry. i'll try to go for one update a week from here on out, but no promises.


	4. Ch. 3: (she) Is Coming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monokuma explains, and Hajime is just tired of it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: human experimentation, and monokuma as a whole.  
> So i'm sorry i didnt post for so long. School started, so ive been super busy, but i've figured out how to get access to my google docs at school without wifi, so I'm gonna be working on this a lot more.

Hajime arrived at the park, realizing that not everyone was there yet. _They’re probably changing,_ he thought. As he waited for them to show up, he glanced around, trying to spot any clues as to who called them there.

The people who were there all looked nervous, many of them looking around warily, just like him. The sky was still dark, and he thought he could hear a bit of thunder in the distance. The wind was whipping through the trees, causing everyone to shiver at the cold.

 _Izuru, please tell me what is happening. Who was on the monitor?_ He asked desperately. He knew that Izuru had at least a small understanding of who it was, after he’d warned him all those times. But so far, he’d stayed silent, ignoring Hajime completely.

“What’s going on?” He heard Nagito say from behind him, and he turned to see that the people changing had all returned to the group.

“We don’t know yet,” Byakuya said gruffly, trying and failing to hide his worry.

Suddenly, Usami appeared in front of them, looking around wildly. “Where are you? Where are you hiding?” she held out her Magic Stick threateningly.

Then, came the sound of laughter, echoing around the park. It was loud and imitated a joyful laugh, but Hajime could easily tell that there was an undertone of cruelty. It was the same voice that had been on the monitor, he realized.

They turned to face the source of the laughter, which was coming from the large statue. Suddenly, another creature like Usami jumped out from behind it. It was the same height and size as her, but it looked very different. Instead of being pure white, the creature was split down the middle, one half black, and the other, white. A gleaming red eye glared at them from it’s black half, an unnaturally large grin stretching along it’s face.

“Oh, I’m sorry! It’s been a long time, hasn’t it!” It laughed again. “I’m Monokuma, the school’s headmaster! And now that I’ve made my appearance, I just want to say… That was lukewarm! Damp! _So_ dreadfully boring!”

Usami gasped. “Just as I thought… it _is_ you! But… but why? Why are you here?”

“Quiet! I’m very angry, you know! This so-called ‘heart-pounding school trip’ is _so_ despair-inducingly boring!” Monokuma growled. “You know what? No one wants to see teenagers living peacefully on some island! What they really want is… suffering, hardship, and _despair.”_

The word sent a shiver down Hajime’s spine, and he stared at Monokuma with renewed fear. It was just like Izuru had warned, like he’d come to suspect. But who was Monokuma, really? If he wanted what Hajime thought he wanted… then they were screwed.

“What the hell is this?” Fuyuhiko asked loudly, stepping forward.

“No! Stop!” Usami yelled. “This is very dangerous! Please step back and let me handle this!” she faced Monokuma. “I don’t know why you’re here, but as long as I have my Magic Stick-“

She was cut off by Monokuma lunging at her, grabbing at the stick. Hajime watched the fight in disbelief, shocked into silence. Everyone else seemed to be doing the same, frozen in shock and fear.

Finally, Usami and Monokuma stopped, the black-and-white bear standing victorious, Usami’s Magic Stick laying broken at his feet. “No! My Magic Stick!” Usami cried.

Monokuma laughed harshly. “Now, for my finishing touch… plain and boring white bunnies are sooooo out of date, yeah? So I’m gonna remake you in my image!” he leaped at her again, and a flash of white light seared through Hajime’s eyes. When it vanished, Usami was standing next to Monokuma, half of her pink instead of white. Her skirt was gone, a diaper in it’s place. She seemed to be holding her head in her hands, sobbing into them.

“Wh-what is this terrible outfit? Take it back right now!” She cried.

“Wow, you’re an awful little sister, Monomi, to be talking trash about your brother’s sense of style!” Monokuma laughed, smiling evilly. 

_Monomi?_ Hajime thought. _What is going_ on?

 _He talks too much. He should just get to the point._ Izuru spoke up for the first time since they left the beach. His tone was coloured in annoyance, and Hajime got the impression he was rolling his eyes.

 _Can’t you just tell me what the point is right now?_ He asked, knowing full well the answer was no. Izuru didn’t even bother to respond, and Hajime realized that he’d zoned out for a few seconds.

“If only I had my Magic Stick, then I could teach Monokuma a lesson!” Monomi was saying, looking sadly at the ground.

“Okay, what the _hell_ is up with your puppet theater?” Fuyuhiko yelled, clenching his fists.

Akane shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“It seems…” Chiaki muttered, staring at Monomi worriedly. “Something bad is happening.”

Everyone was murmuring to themselves, eyeing the small animals with increasing wariness. Hajime was very close to hyperventilating, as were some of the others, who looked worse than he felt. Most of them were staring at the black-and-white bear with both shock and fear.

“Th-they’ve multiplied!” someone shouted.

“How’s the new thing talking?!”

“Monokuma…”

“Did he say headmaster?” Nekomaru cut in suddenly, causing everyone to quiet.

The bear laughed. “Yep! And now, said _headmaster_ would like to make an announcement!” it paused for a second, looking around and meeting everyone’s eyes. “The ‘Field Trip Of Mutual Killing’ begins now.” there was silence for a few seconds, before Monokuma launched into his explanation. “You’re whole objective of becoming friends and all that crap is sooooo boring! Where’s the _punch?_ The impact? No one wants to play _that_ type of game! So, surprise! You bastards are the new participants of the Field Trip Of Mutual Killing!”

There were several outcries of shock.

“Wh-what? M-mutual killings…”

“What d-do you mean by th-that?!”

Monokuma grinned. “Well… Mutual killing means exactly what it sounds like! Killing each other!”

Hajime paled. It was exactly what he’d feared. “B-but that’s impossible…” he said. How did Izuru know? Why hadn’t he told him?

Oblivious to Hajime’s internal struggle, Monokuma rambled on. “See,” he said gleefully. “Getting to leave the island because you made a few friends is just _so_ tedious and boring, am I right? Therefore, I am changing the rules! To leave this island, you must _kill_ one of your so-called _friends,_ and survive the class trial!”

“Wait,” Sonia spoke up. “A class trial?”

“Yeah, when one of you youngsters decides to go on a killing spree, the survivors gotta investigate to find out who did the murdering! Then, you’ll hold a full trial where the blackened will either remain unnoticed, and leave the island… or get exposed, and get punished.” Monokuma’s tone deepened into a much more threatening one on the word ‘punishment’. Hajime could esily guess what the punishment would be.

“P-punishment?!” Kazuichi cried, clearly close to tears.

“Yeppers! Also, remember that I’m not picky as to which method you use for your murdering. There’s always the classics, like beating, stabbing, strangling, and poisoning, but there’s so many other things you guys could do!” The bear chuckled to itself, hugging its’ body as it sighed. “Thinking about it gets me so excited! It’ll be an all-you-can-kill buffet!”

Hajime’s heart was pounding dully in his ears as he listened, the pit in his stomach growing deeper and deeper with every word. He couldn’t believe what Monokuma was saying, it was just too ridiculous. _Killing? To escape the island? But… Why? Why us? This is probably some sort of prank, right?_ He thought, fear clouding his reasoning.

 _It isn’t a joke._ Said Izuru, his voice cutting through Hajime’s panic. _It’s quite obvious. Calm down, and pay attention to what it’s saying._

Hajime didn't want to believe it, but he obeyed Izuru, and focused on the black-and-white bear’s words. 

“What happens i-if we _don't_ kill anyone?” Kazuichi asked fearfully, close to tears. 

“Oh, that!” Monokuma let out another laugh, grinning evilly. “Well I don't care, you all can start killing whenever you want! But unfortunately, that would mean accepting your life here, and staying on this island forever… and I'm sure none of you want that, now do you?” 

Nekomaru growled menacingly, cracking his knuckles. “Normally violence isn't the answer, but right now we don't have any other choice!”

“A battle, huh? I'm looking forward to taking this black-and-white dude out!” Akane grinned. 

Peko reached for her sword, scowling. “Anyone who even thinks of murder shall be stopped by force,” she glared at Monokuma. 

Wild hope flared in Hajime’s chest, as he watched the three strongest classmates advance on Monokuma. Maybe this could work, maybe they could leave the island after they destroyed the insane bear. 

It was shut down quickly when the animals in the statue transformed into gigantic metal monsters that stood behind Monokuma as he crowed with laughter. 

“Wh-what the _fuck?!”_

“What _are_ those things?” 

“I-it’s a m-monster!” 

Cries of shock and disbelief rang out from within the group, echoing through the park. Hajime was silent, simply staring at the creatures in horror. They were _never_ going to escape. 

“Jeez, its’ not a _monster,_ it's a Monobeast! God, get with the program guys, I can't carry this all by myself!” Monokuma sneered, looking at their terrified faces with glee. 

“This has got to be a dream, or-or _something!_ ” Kazuichi whimpered, trembling as he looked up at the Monobeasts. 

“This simply cannot be happening!” Sonia cried. “It is impossible!” 

“Honestly, you kids love to hide behind the whole ‘this is all a dream’ excuse. You bastards are so quick to reject anything that's out of the norm!” 

“St-stand back everyone!” Monomi cried, finally standing up from where she'd crumpled to the ground in despair. “I’m going to protect you!” She stumbled forward. 

“Oh-ho-ho? What's this? Is Monomi standing up to her big _brother?_ Very well, if that's what you want, I'll make an example out of you!” Monokuma’s voice pitched down, glee vanishing and being replaced by malice. 

Suddenly, Monokuma pulled out a massive gun, slinging it over his shoulder and shooting. Bullets whizzed through the air, flying past Hajime and right through Monomi. Monokuma advanced, flinging bullets into Monomi’s body until she was no more than pieces of cloth and machinery. 

Hajime’s ears were ringing by the time Monokuma stopped. 

_What just happened?_ He thought, the panic starting to set in. _Oh God, Monomi’s dead, he killed her, he used a_ machine gun, _holy_ shit, _what the hell-_

 _Hajime,_ calm down _. You need to breath. _Izuru’s usually monotone voice was coloured with concern. 

The startling change in Izuru’s tone tore Hajime out of his panic, and he realized that he’d been hyperventilating. _Thank you,_ he replied, before realizing that Monokuma was still speaking. 

“It seems you finally realize how merciless I can be! I have no compassion or sympathy for you, and you’ll do well to remember that! In accordance with my arrival, I've updated your E-Handbooks with the new rules. Break them… and you'll regret it. Now then! I hope you all enjoy this Field Trip of Mutual Killing!” 

And with that… they were gone. Monokuma, the Monobeasts, they disappeared suddenly, vanishing into thin air. 

Hajime wanted to scream. He was so _tired_ of the constant shock, the stress of the day was finally catching up to him. First, being put on an abandoned, mysterious island, then the talking rabbit _(that was now dead)_ and then finally Monokuma and the ‘Field Trip of Mutual Killing’. It was all too much. 

The worst part was that since Monokuma had left, no one had spoken. They all stared at each other worriedly. Hajime knew that at least one of them was considering it. Hell, even _he_ was slightly considering it. 

_If it was to get off this island…_ No. he couldn't think like that. He couldn't kill anyone. He didn't _want_ to kill anyone. 

He hoped everyone felt the same. 

“Th-this isn't happening…” Kazuichi laughed hysterically. 

“I want to g-go home n-now!” Mikan cried, tears flowing down her face. 

“No-none of this is possible… right?” 

“On the contrary,” Byakuya said solemnly, clearly shaken. “Monokuma and his Monobeasts are simply machines. That means there’s someone controlling them.”

 _Someone… controlling them?_ The thought had crossed Hajime’s mind, but he hadn’t dwelled on it due to the shock. But it made sense, for someone to be controlling the creatures. But… who would do that? Were they hiding on the island? 

“What?” Ibuki asked. “You mean… someone is behind all this?”

Byakuya grimaced, pushing his glasses up. “Yes. But there is another thing we must focus on. I have no idea who put us in this situation, or what they plan on doing, but… it is not Monokuma and the ghastly creatures he has at his disposal that we must guard ourselves against right now. What we need to guard ourselves against right now, is… each other.”

Hajime looked around, seeing the others do the same. They were all thinking the same thing; one of them was considering it. They all agreed with what Byakuya had said, he could see it in their eyes. 

_Only a student who kills can leave this island…_

In other words, someone who is truly desperate enough to leave this island… is going to sacrifice others. Hajime couldn’t be sure that it wouldn’t happen. He didn’t even know if he wouldn’t do it. _I could end up killing someone…_ He understood the fear now. It wasn’t fear of Monokuma, not anymore. And it wasn’t even fear that the others would do something. No, it was fear of himself. Fear that he could become desperate enough to kill to escape. 

***

**_Rule Number 6: During the class trial, students will attempt to identify the culprit. If the culprit is successfully identified, they alone shall be executed for their crime._ **

**_Rule Number 7: Failure to identify the culprit will be considered a violation of the school rules. In this event, all students except the culprit shall be executed._ **

**_Rule Number 8: A culprit who successfully hides their guilt shall be granted immunity, and shall be permitted to leave the island._ **

**_Rule Number 9: After three or more people discover a body, a ‘Body Discovery Announcement’ shall broadcast across the island._ **

**_Rule Number 10: It is strictly forbidden to damage any facilities on this island, including surveillance cameras and monitors._ **

**_Rule Number 11: You may freely investigate the islands. No restrictions shall be placed on your activities._ **

**_Warning: More rules may be added in the future, at the discretion of the headmaster._ **

_***_

_So he really is doing this…_ Hajime thought, looking up from the E-Handbook, staring out at the darkened pool. He could hardly believe that what had happened a mere hour ago was reality. But… he couldn’t deny it. He knew, as much as he tried to deny it, that it was all real. Everything on the island had been so _different_ he was used to. 

The worst part was that he couldn’t even _remember_ what he was used to. Ever since he’d gotten to the island, his memories had been a fuzzy blur. He’d tried to ignore it the whole time he’d been introducing himself to the other Ultimates, but now that he was alone, it was impossible to deny anymore. He didn’t remember anything. Well, he _hardly_ remembered anything. He had vague thoughts and emotions from specific events, and he knew everything that had happened in his life, but he couldn’t pick out specific memories. Every time he thought he could, the memory slipped away. It was like trying to hold smoke or vapor in his bare hands. He could try, and try, but no matter what, he couldn’t grasp anything firm. 

Absentmindedly, he realized that it was beautiful on the island. He could almost fool himself into thinking that everything was okay. The stars were shining brightly, the sky packed full with them, the soothing sounds from the pool calming his mind. 

_My first night on the island._ He thought tiredly. It was so beautiful, but something about the beauty terrified him. It reminded him of how out of place he was, how _not-normal_ this place was. 

Sighing, he stood up and made his way to the cabin he’d been assigned. He saw a few lights on in the other cottages, but he ignored them. He didn’t care where the others were right now, he just wanted to sleep. As he walked into his cottage, the monitor on the other side of the room crackled and burst to life. 

“ _Ahem, ahem.”_ It was the bear. The sight of him sent a jolt of anger through Hajime, and he glared at the monitor as he continued talking. “ _This is an announcement from the Hope’s Peak Academy Field Trip Executive Committee. It is now 10 pm. Night brings out the worst in people… so make sure to lock your doors tonight! You never know who could be prowling outside, scheming a murder! Bye, now!”_ With that, the monitor turned off, leaving Hajime with a sour taste in his mouth. 

Closing the door, he collapsed on the bed. He screamed into the pillow, letting out all the anger and fear that had been accumulating since they’d arrived. He screamed, and screamed, until he finally ran out of breath. Sitting up, he realized he was crying, a few tears falling down his cheeks. “Fuck,” he muttered, wiping them away quickly. 

_You should get some sleep._ Izuru spoke up for the first time in an hour. His voice was low and soothing, a clear contrast to the bored monotone of his usual voice. 

_I know I just… don’t want to wake up to this._ Briefly, he wondered if killing yourself would result in a class trial, then instantly felt horrible for even thinking of it. 

_Maybe so, but you still need to sleep, or you won’t be able to function tomorrow._

_Okay, fine._ Hajime was too tired to argue with him, instantly flopping down onto the bed, not even bothering to change his clothes, if there was anything he could even change into. There was so much he still needed to figure out, from his memories, to Izuru’s existence, but it could wait until tomorrow. He was just so tired…

***

_It was silent. He waited._

_They would come back. They always did._

~~_The silence was too loud._ ~~

_They were pulling at his brain, tearing it apart and putting it back together because_ _they didn't care _ _if he was hurting, they only cared that he was **quiet**. _

_They were asking him questions. He didn't want to answer, it was pointless, but they didn't care, they wanted to know and he couldn't stop them from getting the answers. ~~He never could.~~_

_They didn't like it when he disappeared, they wanted him there, not the other him. They didn't like the other him. They wanted him **gone** , and the times he disappeared were getting shorter and _ _shorter_ _until he couldn't remember a time when the other him wasn't gone. _

_~~He didn't disappear anymore.~~ _

_They told him that he was special. Important. Important enough to keep chained to the bed after he tried to claw his brain out when it hurt too much,_ _important_ _enough to look inside his head and_ _dissect_ _it as he screamed._

_They were testing him again and again and again and again_ _and again._ _They didn't stop. They kept going and going and going until he started _ _screaming_ _and even t **hen they wouldn't STOP IT**_ ~~ **_STOP IT, IT HURTS IT H U R T S-_**~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so i guess yall can assume that the end part was about Izuru. You assume correct. I took some liberties with the whole Kamukura project, especially since we didnt know anything about it really. but I'll get more into detail with it later, so like, stay tuned ig.  
> for Hajime's memory loss, i wanted the whole 'Izuru existing along with him' and memory wipe being botched to have more of an impact on him, especially since i was frustrated that in the game, he didn't even try to remember anything that could have to do with his talent. so now, he can hardly remember anything about himself, so he wont be able to try to remember anything about his talent :)


	5. Ch. 4: (he is) Lying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the dream, Izuru and Hajime figure out their next step. A motive is revealed and a plot to murder someone is brewing...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Slight panic attack, implications of human experimentation (because Izuru's a thing), unintentional s*lf h*rm, and memory loss  
> Disclaimer: i dont own Danganronpa, or any of the games within it, and ive never claimed to. If i did own it, it would be either more disturbing or a lot more happy.  
> ALSO!!!! this fic is NOT hajime x izuru. I really should've made that clear, and i've only realized it now because one of my friends read it and was like 'hey dev this sort of seems like hajime x izuru, thats kinda weird' so yeah. If there is any ship with hajime, it's going to be minor komahina, and i headcanon izuru as aro/ace, so no romance for him.

Hajime sat bolt upright, hearing screaming, that he then realized to be coming from him. He instinctively curled into a ball as tears streamed down his face. 

He didn't know what the dream had been, he didn't know where it came from, or why he'd had it, but it was terrifying all the same. He could hardly breathe, terror clogging his lungs as he gasped for breath and scrambled for stability. 

_Hajime, calm down._

He jumped, startled by Izuru's voice. 

_You need to calm down._

His deeper voice grounded Hajime as he slowly took deep breaths, calming down as the seconds passed. _It was just a dream,_ he reminded himself. 

After another minute, he raised he head, looking around the dark cabin he was staying in. 

_Wait._

Suddenly the previous days events came flooding back to him. The bear, the guns, and the killing game. It was all real. The dream might have been simply that; a dream, but the things on the island... those were real. 

"Izuru what's going to happen?" He asked out loud, ashamed of how small his voice was.

_Too much. But you'll need to be strong enough to face it when it happens. Go back to sleep._

_But the nightmare..._

_That was a fault of mine. _

_What do you mean by that?_ Hajime tensed, remembering the feeling of fear that overwhelmed him in the dream. 

_I t was less of a dream and more of my memories. _

_What?!_ Hajime was wide awake now. 

_That was more or less parts of the incident that caused me to exist. _Was Hajime imagining the smallest traces of sadness and fear in Izuru's voice? 

_But what WAS that incident? Why can’t I remember it?_ Hajime’s voice was frantic, the panic he’d calmed rushing back. There was _proof_ that he couldn’t remember everything, because if Izuru existed and he didn’t know why, or _how,_ there had to be memories missing. 

_Because they took those specific memories away. You were fully aware of my creation, as was I. It was far more painful for you than for me, but the aftermath was worse for us both. _Izuru sounded almost… bitter. Hajime wasn’t used to him showing more emotions, hell he didn’t even know if Izuru _had_ any. 

_What_ _happened_ , _though?_ It was a question that’d been plaguing him since he woke up on the island. Izuru had referred to his ‘creation’ many times, but he’d never actually shed any light on _how_ he’d been ‘created’. 

_It is not important right now._ Izuru snapped, and Hajime jumped at the sudden venom in his tone. 

Whatever happened had apparently been traumatic enough to make Izuru, the most emotionless person he’d ever met _(Met? Talked to?)_ , shaken and defensive. Hajime didn’t want to press him for answers right now, he was too tired to deal with Izuru’s anger. _Sorry._ He replied quietly, trying to ignore his lingering curiosity. 

_It is not your fault, it’s in human nature to become irritated when they do not know the answers, however boring it may be._ Izuru said after a short pause, his voice calmer and more collected, but still containing a sliver of deep-seated rage and terror. 

Hajime ignored it for Izuru’s sake and almost laughed at the back-handed reassurance that he’d gotten. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about sharing his body with another person, especially when he couldn’t remember when or _how_ that person came to exist, but he had long since realized that they were stuck together on this island, no matter what. It was out of his control, and they both would just have to deal with it. 

_Go back to sleep. You will need it._ Izuru said quietly, any traces of emotion gone. 

_Aw, Izuru, you do care about me._ He replied sarcastically, but obeyed. As much as he hated to admit it, he was both mentally and physically exhausted and he would need to be as alert as possible the next day. Slowly, he relaxed into the bed, closing his eyes. As he fell asleep, one last conscious thought crossed his mind, wondering if there was a possible way to get away from the island, the worry, and the fear permanently. 

***

Hajime woke to the monitor in is room crackling to life loudly. Monokuma’s unpleasantly shrill voice filled the cottage as he sat up slowly. 

“Ahem, ahem! Hope’s Peak Executive Field Trip Committee has an announcement to make! Good morning everyone! Looks like today is gonna be another beautiful day! Make sure to enjoy it for all it’s worth!” 

The image on the screen cut out. Hajime groaned as he stood up, gathering his composure. It had felt like he’d only gotten a few minutes of sleep before he was rudely awoken, despite how long he knew he’d slept. 

_I almost hoped I wouldn’t wake up…_ He thought, looking around the cabin. The night before, he’d been too emotionally distraught to glance around, but he felt marginally better this morning. The cottage was small, but still bigger than he was used to sleeping in ~~_**(H**_~~ _ ** ~~ow do you know that, hmm?~~** ) _and besides the bed and a few shelves, his room was quite bare, with no decorations or furniture. 

Sighing, he decided that he should probably go outside, and maybe see how everyone else was holding up. Maybe he could feel better if others shared their concerns as well. 

**~~_(Make sure not to let anyone too close or they could kill you, you know.)_ ~~ **

Hajime ignored the thought, quickly getting ready and was about to walk out the door, before he hesitated, glancing around the cottage. He almost didn’t want to leave the false safety of this room, knowing that if he stayed in here, he had a less likely chance of dying. But… he knew he had to leave sometime. He couldn’t stay in his room for forever, and by staying away from everyone might make him an even bigger target. 

_You will be fine. _Izuru suddenly spoke up, causing Hajime to jump. _No one is going to risk a murder so soon, it will benefit you to interact with the others. It may give you an idea of who to stay with, or who to avoid._

Sighing, he nodded as he opened the door, immediately running into Kazuichi.

“AAAAAAAAHHH!!!” The pink-haired boy screamed, scrambling backwards as Hajime jumped, and tried to recover from the near heart attack Kazuichi had given him. He hadn’t expected to be scared the second he left the cottage, though he suspected that even if he’d known that Kazuichi was outside his door, he still would’ve been startled. 

** ~~_(Just another reason to stay inside, Hajime. No one can hurt you there.)_ ~~ **

Hajime determinedly ignored the thought, focusing on what Kazuichi was saying. 

“Jesus, Hajime, don’t scare me like that!” the boy yelled, glaring at him. Then, his expression changed from anger to fear in a split second. “H-have you seen it yet?” He asked quietly, glancing over his shoulder as if to make sure no one was listening in. 

“Seen what?” He asked cluelessly, unsure of what Kazuichi was referring to. 

“The bridges, man! You, know the five other bridges on the central island?”

“Did something happen to them…?” 

“Hell yeah it did, they’re being blocked off by those giant metal monsters!” He shouted, close to tears. Hajime was unsure of what to say to comfort him, settling for patting the distraught classmate’s back awkwardly. 

“Hey, hey, hey!” A loud voice cut through the silence. Hajime scowled, seeing the black-and-white bear appear out of thin air beside them. “Not that I don’t want to see more of your budding bromance, but my Monobeasts aren’t monsters! They’re protectors! They keep you out of places I don’t want you to go!” His voice was far too cheerful to be discussing gigantic robots that he’d threatened to kill them all with just the night before. 

“G-go away! We don’t want you here!” Kazuichi cried, waving his arms around wildly. 

“Hmm…” Hajime frowned, deep in thought. “So, they’re gatekeepers then. We shouldn’t go near them without some sort of protection, that’s for sure.” he thought out loud. 

“I don’t care if they’re gatekeepers! I don’t care that they’re keeping us out of the other islands! I-I just can’t take this anymore. It’s a-all too much.” Kazuichi burst out, actual tears streaming down his face. He looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown, one that Hajime had no idea how to deal with. 

“Kazuichi…” He took a step closer to the crying boy, before another voice cut him off. 

“What all this noise about?” Peko’s voice came from behind him, and he turned to face her as Kazuichi let out another screech of shock. “Ah, Hajime and Kazuichi. I’ve been instructed to find and bring you to the hotel restaurant for a meeting.”

“No way, no way, no way!!!” Kazuichi shook his head frantically. “I’m outta here!” He took off, running along the boardwalk and away from the hotel. Wherever he was going, Hajime hoped that he’d be all right, and he didn’t run into anything too nasty. 

_He will be fine, cease your worrying. He requires time to process, and his obvious lack of sleep did not help his paranoia._ Izuru explained, giving Hajime the impression that he was rolling his eyes. 

_I still hope he’s okay. He’s nice enough._

Faintly, he could hear the closest thing to laughter he’d heard Izuru make, but it was mocking and condescending, unlike real laughter. _That is not a word I would ever associate with anyone here._

 _What, nice?_ Hajime asked. 

_Yes. Do not think for one second that these people here would ever put another’s life before their own. Every one of them is selfish, and rotten, no matter how well they can hide it. Situations like this bring out the worst in people, and with extra encouragement from Monokuma, I predict that we will only have two or three days until someone kills another. _Izuru said blankly, not a single emotion registering in his tone. 

Hajime felt slightly sick, but ignored it. He was already stressed enough, he had to at least slightly trust his classmates. _Wow, you really went off on a tangent there. Why don’t you tell me how you really feel, huh?_

He could tell Izuru was about to reply, but he stubbornly ignored him, walking briskly to the hotel, passing Chiaki on the way in. At the sight of her, a hazy memory surfaced; the first one he’d been able to see since he’d arrived. He remembered him, and Chiaki playing a game… somewhere. He couldn’t remember why, when, or where, but he knew that it was Chiaki. A feeling of warmth and sadness engulfed him as he remembered, but, just like everything else that day, he ignored it. 

As he entered the restaurant, he immediately took notice of the fact that everyone was there, besides Kazuichi, and Chiaki who was walking up to his side. Everyone looked tense and uneasy as they waited in complete silence, eyeing each other warily. 

It was Byakuya who finally broke the silence. “Hajime. I see you are late,” he commented, frowning. “And where is Kazuichi?”

“Oh… he sort of… ran off? He headed away from the hotel, towards the ranch, I think.” _And I’m seriously considering following him,_ he didn’t say as Byakuya growled in frustration, and the whole group shifted awkwardly. 

“ _Fine,_ I’ll go get him,” Mahiru sighed, walking out of the restaurant. 

Hajime turned to Byakuya nervously. “So, why did we have to gather here?”

“I’m not saying anything until Mahiru and Kazuichi return.” came the curt reply, and Hajime immediately backed down, not in the mood to fight. Sighing, he sat down next to Nagito at a table, and waited in silence, eating a small portion of the food that had been set out. 

After a few minutes, Mahiru returned, dragging Kazuichi by the ear. “ _God,_ he has to pull himself together!” she muttered after she let him go. 

“Oh no, he looks like he’s gonna pee his pants!” Hiyoko snickered, looking Kazuichi up and down. “How pathetic can you get?”

“Quiet, everyone,” Byakuya said, and a hush fell over the group as they all turned to face him. “I would like to pose a question to you all. Seeing as we’ve been ordered to kill each other, but all of us collectively want to live through this ordeal, what do you think we are in need of at this moment in time?”

 _E_ veryone began to mutter amongst themselves, until Nagito spoke up from beside Hajime. “Maybe… bonds?” At most people’s look of confusion, he continued. “Like… you’re all students with extraordinary talents, right? If we come together, there is nothing you _can’t_ do. We need to form strong bonds with each other to overcome this despair.”

Murmurs of agreement broke out around them, but Byakuya spoke up before anyone else could say anything. “Indeed, that is a splendid answer. However, it was not the one I was looking for.” He explained. 

“What is it, then?” Hajime asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable by how everyone turned to look at him as he spoke. 

“What we need…” Byakuya began. “Is a gifted leader to be in command. And I’m sure you all will be delighted to hear that I will take on this responsibility myself,” There was a brief silence. “Now that that’s over with, we can move on to another pressing issue.”

“Wait a second!” Mahiru stood up, frowning. “Y-you don’t just get to _decide_ that you’re the leader! You’re being way too aggressive.”

“Is there anyone else who could rival me? I am the heir of the Togami family. I was _destined_ to lead since birth,” He sneered. 

“B-but you’re still being too aggressive! Why can’t someone else lead, like, say… Sonia!” Mahiru gestured to the blonde, who’s eyes widened in shock. 

“I am afraid that my position as a princess in my native country is little more than a figurehead. I would not be fit to lead a group like this, I apologize.” Sonia said fretfully, shooting Mahiru an apologetic look. 

“Very well then,” Byakuya sighed. “Do not worry, for as long as I am your leader, there will not be a single victim!” 

Hajime frowned. It was slightly reassuring that someone would speak up and try to lead them, but it seemed to be almost out of character for Byakuya. From the little interactions with him that he’d had, he hadn’t thought that he’d be the type of person to care for the people who he viewed as below him. Nevertheless, he was grateful that he’d stepped up, at least they now had a semblance of structure they could rely on. 

“Now… I have something that I need to show you all,” He proclaimed. “It’s on the central island, be sure to come quickly.” With that, he walked out of the restaurant, ignoring their complaints as they followed him. 

As he walked, Hajime privately wondered how well having a leader would work. By electing himself as the leader, Byakuya had essentially painted a huge target on his back. Everyone would either blindly trust him, or distrust him enough to take drastic action. If someone killed him, the group would fall apart, no longer having someone in charge to rely on to help them, or if the opposite happened, and _he_ killed someone, no one would suspect him, seeing as he would take charge and drive the suspicion away from him simply because he was the leader. _No matter what happens, none of us will be completely safe, leader or not._

 _Finally, you are starting to understand the stakes to this game. _Said Izuru. _At least five people here, if not more, are considering the possibility of murder already, and it will only increase as time goes on. Not all of them will actually go through with it, but with additional motivation, they could._

Hajime shivered at the thought of one of his classmates killing another. He knew that at least a few people were considering it, if not all of them, **~~_( You certainly are) _~~**but to consider it and to actually go through with it were two completely different things. To think that someone could be coming up with a way to kill someone… 

Quickly, he banished the thought from his head. He was much more content to continue being ignorant, and not think about the fact that one of them could kill another. 

As they arrived at the central island, several gasps rang out, and Hajime looked up quickly to see what was going on. Once he saw what it was, he had to do a double take, his jaw dropping. 

Sitting on top of the now-removed statue in the middle of the park was a huge, black, ball with large, beeping, red digits in the center. The numbers were changing, decreasing with every second. **21 MORE DAYS** , it read. 

“Wh-what the hell is that?” Someone cried. 

“Was that here last night?” 

“What’s it c-counting down t-to?” 

Hajime stared at the thing with wide eyes. He’d never seen anything like it in his life. **~~_(As far as you know)_~~** He had no idea how it’d gotten there, or _why_ it was even there in the first place. 

“I found it this morning, while I was checking the islands,” Byakuya said, staring worriedly up at the timer. “It is unclear exactly when it was installed.”

“This is most likely Monokuma’s work, no?” Peko asked, looking around. 

“I wonder what the countdown is for…” Ibuki frowned, looking uncharacteristically grim. 

Nekomaru gasped. “M-maybe it’s a bomb!” 

“A _BOMB?!”_ Kazuichi cried, backing away quickly. 

“No…” Byakuya pushed his glasses up. “If they wanted to destroy the island, they could’ve done so before now. Why bother with an over-the-top countdown?” 

“This just gets more and more curious!” A small voice called out from behind them. Hajime turned to see who’d spoken and there was a collective gasp of shock from his classmates. 

“Monomi?” Mahiru asked, her expression confused. 

Sonia laughed. “You are all right!”

“Hey, hey, didn’t Monokuma kill you?!” Ibuki pointed out. 

Monomi smiled cheerfully. “Oh don’t worry about that! I can’t die, after all!”

Hajime frowned. It made sense, seeing as Monokuma and the Monobeasts were machines, Monomi was probably one too. As long as there was a spare ‘body’ around, technically she couldn’t die. 

“Hey Monomi?” Nagito asked, taking a step forwards. “Do _you_ know what this countdown’s all about?” 

Monomi frowned in confusion, then caught sight of the statue. “O-oh my! I’m terribly sorry, b-but… I don’t know… M-Monokuma doesn’t tell me anything…” 

Sighing in frustration, Hajime glared at the small robot. “Is there anything you _do_ know then?” He asked, clenching his fists. 

“N-no, I’m sorry!” 

Byakuya scowled. “Well, you are clearly of no use to us, then. Go away.”

“Wh-what!?” 

“You heard me. Go. Away.” 

Sadly, Monomi nodded, and disappeared in a cloud of pale pink light. Hajime relaxed marginally. He still wasn’t sure if Monomi was to be trusted. She didn’t get along with Monouma, from what he’d seen, but she _had_ been the one to take them to the island. Her an Monokuma could just be putting on an act. 

Byakuya sighed. “Our first priority as of now, is to investigate these islands. The E-Handbook states that we are allowed to explore the islands at our own discretion. There may be a clue here about our captor’s true identity, and if there is, we _need_ to find it.” 

“Got it!” Akane said, cracking her knuckles. “I’m lookin’ forward to this!”

Most of them joined in, encouraging each other, and hyping themselves up. Hajime smiled slightly for the first time since arriving. He felt like he could actually start to rely on his classmates, maybe he could trust them a bit more. Everyone was so sure of themselves, and even those who weren’t were trying their hardest. 

**_ ~~(Don’t you feel a little out of place? You can’t even remember your talent, how can you call yourself one of them, huh, Hajime? Pathetic.)~~ _ **

Scowling to himself, Hajime determinedly ignored the thought, and refocused onto what Byakuya was saying. 

“Additionally, we cannot be distracted with foolish ideas of murder,” He was saying. “Anyone who falls into this trap is doing exactly what Monokuma wants. We must concentrate on the task at hand, and think of nothing else.”

Ibuki laughed cheerfully. “Wow, that was, like, super cool!”

Nagito nodded from beside Hajime. “Yeah. It’s just like Byakuya said. We can’t let those kinds of thoughts into our heads! This certainly isn’t a good situation, but it would be much worse. We need to rely on each other!” He said earnestly, and Hajime almost wanted to believe him, but Izuru’s words came to mind. _Every one of them is selfish and rotten, no matter how well they can hide it._ He knew, deep down, no one would truly trust one another. Not in this situation. 

No one was safe. It didn’t matter if they said they were going to work together, or that they were going to trust one another. Everyone knew they had the chance to get off the island. Sooner or later, someone was going to take that chance. 

***

The day passed quickly after that. Everyone stayed around the park for a little while longer, before people began to leave. One by one, everyone had left, until it was only Hajime and Nagito at the central island. 

Hajime had decided to sit down against a tree, and had quickly gotten lost in thought. Izuru had said that no one here could be trusted, and he’d believed him for the most part, but he wondered if he could really begin to trust them, even just a bit. Not _all_ of them were actually thinking about murdering someone. And it wouldn’t be like he would blindly follow their every command, he knew that would be dangerous, and while, sure, it might’ve been okay if this was a _normal_ field trip, but it wasn’t. Here, it was life or death, even if no one had actually died yet. 

~~**_(That doesn’t mean no one will, though, you know that, right?)_ ** ~~

“Hey, are you okay?” Nagito’s voice cut through his thoughts cleanly, as the taller boy came closer. “You seem kinda out of it.”

Hajime laughed bitterly. “I bet everyone is, though. We’re barely being given time to process everything.” 

Shrugging, Nagito sat down beside him. “Probably. Different people take longer to take everything in, after all.” 

“No one trusts anyone,” Hajime said suddenly, staring out at the bridge connecting the islands. “They’re all saying that they will, but it’s just empty words. We can’t afford to completely trust anyone in this situation.” 

There was a brief silence, in which Hajime noticed that Nagito was looking at him strangely out of the corner of his eye. “You aren’t giving up, are you?”

That startled a laugh out of him, and he smiled weakly. “No, not yet. I’m not saying that we can’t work together, we just can’t completely trust one another. Once we get out of here, then maybe, but not yet.”

“You can’t work together without trust, though.”

“But you also can’t work together with blind trust and obedience either. Not here.”

Nagito sighed. “True enough, though it hurts to admit it,”

Hajime frowned at the giant countdown, thinking hard. “We can’t give up, though,” he said, determination pooling in his gut. “We have to find a way out of this, and we can’t give up no matter how hard it gets. If we don’t keep trying, that’d mean Monokuma and the person controlling him win.” He didn’t know where the small speech had come from, but he knew he meant every word of it. 

Glancing to his side, he saw that Nagito was staring at him with wide eyes. “Sorry, that was probably really cheesy, huh?” He chuckled self-consciously.

“No, no, it was really moving!” Nagito reassured him. “All of you Ultimates are truly amazing.”

“Hey, you’re one of us too. And I can’t even remember my talent, so you’re more of an Ultimate than I am,” Hajime nudged the other boy good-naturedly.

“Oh, really? I just thought that was a temporary side effect from the shock of arriving here,” Nagito said worriedly. “I wonder what caused it…”

Hajime shifted awkwardly. He couldn’t exactly say ‘ _Oh yeah, it’s a funny story, really, the same guys who put us here erased my memories, including the memories of how I somehow developed some sort of split personality!’_ without any proof. Nagito would think he was insane, and probably tell everyone else. 

“I really don’t know,” He settled with instead, ignoring how bitter the lie tasted on his tongue. “But hopefully, we’ll find out soon.”

***

Apparently, Hajime had a lot of luck on his side, because later that night, Monokuma revealed the exact thing he’d been trying to figure out how to tell everyone since they’d gotten there. 

He’d been sitting alone in his room, after leaving the park. The sky had darkened, and a few stars had appeared. He was attempting to process everything, laying in his bed and staring up at the ceiling blankly. Then, the monitor buzzed, and an image of Monokuma appeared, laughing gleefully. 

“Hellooooo, everyone!” The bear grinned from ear to ear, almost literally, and Hajime fought back a wave of revulsion at the sight of it. No one should be that happy in this situation. “Now, I know this is probably getting to be annoying by now, but meet me at Jabberwock Park immediately! Some _special recreational activities_ have been planned for you! I wonder what they are, hmm?” 

_Maybe if I just stay here, he’ll leave me alone,_ Hajime thought miserably, groaning to himself. He knew that Monokuma wouldn’t let anyone miss a meeting that he’d called, but he almost wanted to test how far he’d go to make him go. 

_Hurry up. Monokuma will likely punish you if you stay here for too long. _Izuru said. 

_I know, I know,_ Hajime sighed, standing up and opening the door. 

As he walked, he wondered what Monokuma would have in store for them this time. His skin crawled, and he firmly ignored the feeling of dread prickling at his mind. 

**~~_(You can’t ignore everything you know, Hajime. Sooner or later it’s gonna be too much! Oh, that would be so despairful!)_ ~~ **

Hajime clenched his fists, pouring all his concentration into thinking about something, _anything_ else. He couldn’t afford to think like that, he could live with repressing the thoughts he didn’t want to have. It’d certainly worked well his whole life, why shouldn’t it now? 

~~ **_(Because this isn’t just dumb, boring thoughts about someone you liked, this is_ real _, this is_ murder, _Hajime. You know you’re considering it. Just give in, and do it already!)_** ~~

“Ah, Hajime,” Hajime jumped, startled out of his dark thoughts by Peko, who had walked up behind him. “Let’s hurry up, we are most likely the last ones there.”

Distantly, Hajime nodded, following her into the park for the second time that day. Everyone was gathered, this time with much more fearful expressions. The last time Monokuma had gathered them, he’d told them to kill each other. What would he do this time? 

“Hajime. Peko. You’re late,” Byakuya noted disapprovingly. 

“Sorry,” He grimaced, and stood in the back, next to Nagito and Sonia. 

“Oh man,” Kazuichi was saying, bouncing around nervously. “Why’d we have to show up here?”

Fuyuhiko sneered. “Maybe you should’ve stayed in your room, and then we’d see what kind of punishment Monokuma uses,”

“Hey! That was completely uncalled for!” Mahiru stepped up instantly, glaring at the shorter boy. 

Hajime groaned as they dissolved into another fight, and almost zoned out completely, until he heard Fuyuhiko laugh loudly. 

“Friends? _Friends?_ When did I _ever_ say we were fucking friends?” He snorted cruelly. “I wouldn’t even hesitate to kill you fuckers.”

He breathed in sharply. Saying that… especially now, when tensions were high, would spell lots of damage to the already crumbling morale. For Fuyuhiko to have the guts to say it in front of everyone, he had to have some sort of plan. 

_Then again, didn’t Izuru say that Peko was practically his hitman? He could just use her to protect him._

“Fuyuhiko… what are you saying…?” Nagito said softly from beside him. 

“Well this is awkward!” 

There were several shrieks of surprise, and Hajime whirled around to see who’d spoken so suddenly. Monokuma stood behind them, wearing a dark blue blazer and tie. It looked so ridiculous, Hajime wanted to laugh, but didn’t want to risk invoking the bear’s wrath.

“What’s with the outfit?” Chiaki asked curiously. 

Monokuma grinned. “Didn’t I tell you? They’re for tonights’ recreational activity! Our two-man comedy show! Peak entertainment! You kids should be honoured I’m showing you something so awesome!” 

Hajime shivered. He didn’t want to know what type of comedy Monokuma found funny. 

“Two-man?” Akane asked, scratching her head. “Don’t you need more than one person for that?” 

“Yes, yes, all in good time!” Monokuma snapped, before clapping his hands (paws?) together. “Make a round of applause for…. My partner!” 

In a flash of pink light, Monomi arrived in a frilly pink and white dress, looking around frantically. “Wh-what’s happening?” She cried, before Monokuma grabbed her by the ear and dragged her off to a small stage he’d set up in the far end of the park. 

“We’ve dallied enough, now! On with the show!” 

Hajime watched in an abstract sort of horror as Monokuma made terrible jokes with Monomi cluelessly standing beside him, taking the abuse he hurled at her. He felt the urge to laugh and cry at the same time, and judging by everyones’ expressions, they all felt the same. 

He almost stopped paying attention, but then, Monokuma’s voice turned from eerily cheerful to dark and sinister. “I hear Monomi is very, very scary when she’s mad,” he whispered, like he was telling them a private secret, and not standing on stage with the very person he was talking about. “See, just between you and me… she selfishly stole your guys’ memories!”

He stared up at the stage in shock. So… it was true. This was proof of everything Izuru had been saying, everything he’d been experiencing. The random bits of memories he’d gotten that morning, the feeling of familiarity around everyone, the way that Izuru talked like he knew everyone… it was confirmed now. A wave of relief washed over him, and he almost sagged under it. He wasn’t crazy, then. 

“Not one of you bastards remember how you got to this island, do you now? That’s ‘cause Monomi took your memories! And the other memories she took? Oh, they weren’t the boring ones, she took away _years_ of you going to Hope’s Peak!”

Silence. Not a single person spoke. Everyone held expressions of varying disbelief. Clearly, none of them believed a single word Monokuma was saying. 

“Wow, that feel sooooo good to get it out in the open! Can you imagine if I’d left that small revelation ‘till the end? I might’ve just killed myself from boredom! Surprise, surprise, fuckers! You aren’t actually freshmen!” Monokuma continued, apparently oblivious to everyone’s shock. Quickly, Monokuma threw off his tie and jacket, walking off the stage. “Well? What’d you think of my comedy routine?”

“W-what _was_ that?” Nagito’s voice almost cracked as he finished the sentence. 

“Why would you show us something like that…?” Mahiru asked. 

“Oh, you mean your school memories? Yep, yep, they’re all gone!” Monokuma cackled with glee at the expressions of confusion and horror. 

“B-but that’s impossible!” Ibuki pointed out, her voice shaking. “It was Ibuki’s first day at Hope’s Peak yesterday, but then we were taken here…”

“That’s just want Monomi wants you to think!” 

“But he’s lying, right? There’s no way our memory is _really_ gone!”

Monokuma laughed and Hajime’s stomach lurched like he’d jumped off of a diving board. “Of course I’m not lying! Your memories really _are_ gone, just ask Hajime!”

Once again, silence reigned. Slowly, everyone turned to face Hajime, who panicked. _Izuru, what do I do?_ He asked desperately, but either Izuru wasn’t paying attention or he didn’t want to answer, because he got no reply. 

“Hajime? What’s he talking about?” Chiaki asked. 

Hajime took in a shuddering breath before beginning. “I-I don’t remember my talent. Not just that, I literally can’t remember most of my life. The parts I do are… hazy, I guess. I didn’t know why until… now.” 

“Wait, seriously?” Kazuichi said skeptically. “That could just be a lie. He could be in league with Monokuma.” 

“It’s not!” Hajime protested. “Why would I lie about this? I can’t remember anything from my life, that’s not my fault!” 

“He’s telling the truth, I think,” Nagito spoke up. “One of the first things he said to me was that he couldn’t remember his talent. I dismissed it as shock or he hit his head, but if what Monokuma said is true…”

“But still, that’s odd. Why you?” Nekoaru asked, his low voice echoing through the park. 

“I have no idea,” _( ~~ **Yes you do)**~~_ “I’m just as in the dark as you guys.” **~~_(No you’re not)_~~**

“Oh, there’s one thing I forgot to mention,” Monokuma interrupted. “I am willing to give your memories back… for a price. When you kill someone and survive a class trial, as well as going home, I’ll give you your memories back too! Aren’t I so _nice?”_

“W-what? Why are you doing this?” Teruteru cried. 

“Well, I figured that you kids were a bit scared of killin’, so I decided to help you along with some extra motivation!” Monokuma explained cheerfully. “I mean… None of you know anything about each other. You’re so clueless about each other that you haven’t even noticed a traitor in your ranks!” 

Hajime wanted to smash his head into a wall. Of _course_ there was a traitor, nothing was ever easy, was it? 

“But my question for you know, is… What will you do about it? I _know_ some of you are being driven crazy already. Will you commit murder? Or will you take the cowards path, and live in fear? It’s all up to you!” With that, Monokuma vanished. 

No one spoke for a few minutes. Everyone was still in shock. Hajime wanted to run back into his cottage and sleep until all of this was over. But he knew he had to face what was coming. 

“There can’t be a traitor, right?” Someone asked. 

“We don’t _know,_ it could be anyone!” 

The group dissolved into shouting, claims of innocence and accusations. 

“EVERYONE!” Byakuya yelled, glaring at them all. “Do not dwell on anything he says. There is likely no traitor. As for the memories… we can discuss that in the morning.” Everyone glanced at Hajime, who was feeling worse by the second. 

Slowly, everyone agreed, and dispersed as Monokuma’s nighttime announcement played. Hajime walked back to his cottage in a daze, ignoring all of the stares he received. 

_ ( ~~ **See, Hajime? This is what happens when you put too much trust in people! I warned you, and now they’re all gonna think you’re such a freak,**~~ _ ~~ **god, _that’s so despair-inducing, isn’t it?)_** ~~

“Shut _UP!”_ Hajime screamed, slamming his fist into the bedpost. Slowly, he sank to the floor, tears swimming in his eyes. “Shut up. _Please.”_ He buried his head in his arms as he finally properly let out all of the pent-up emotions he’d been feeling that day. All the anger, all the pain. 

Distantly, he became aware of the blood trickling down his knuckles, and the dull pain that was coursing through his arm, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. 

***

Nagito walked into his cottage, locking the door as he closed it. What a _day_ it had been, interacting with the famed Ultimates once again. He still couldn’t believe how lucky he was to be able to be here, in close proximity to them. 

Sighing, he laid down on his bed, thinking back on the events that had taken place not even an hour ago. Monokuma, the despair-bringing _demon_ that he was, was trying to bring them down. By revealing the memory motive, and a possible traitor, he pitted the Ultimates against themselves. 

That would not stand. 

Hope, in the form of the Ultimates, would always win. He’d seen the way Hajime looked, after the short speech he’d made earlier that day, and knew that every single one of the Ultimates could reach that height. 

Hope would win. 

And he knew exactly how to ensure it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hajime's not doing too well, is he?  
> I wonder who's going to die...?  
> In seriousness though, i was really pissed that they killed twogami right away, especially since he was literally the most mysterious person in the game at that time, so spoiler alert, he's not gonna die first. I have a lot more planned for him, and he deserves to at least die in a more interesting way.  
> Also, i got really mad that during the trials, a lot of characters acted really stupid, when outside of the trial, they're actually super smart. I get that it's a high-pressure situation and all, but they had a lot of potential, so I'm gonna try and exploit it during the upcoming trial.  
> Sorry that this was more of a filler chapter, the next one will be a lot longer, and detailed, since, you know, the murder is about to happen.  
> Comment who you think's going to die!  
> If you have any requests, criticism, or just wanna say something about the fic, yall can dm me on instagram @moronic_crocs, or comment if you don't want to go to the effort lmao


	6. Ch. 5: (do not) Believe Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime wonders what to do next, Nagito plots, the stage is set, and finally, the murderer is spurred into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been taking so long, high school is hella stressful, and to top it all off, i've been sick for the past week, and i might have to get tested for corona, so yay me, even though its just a fucking cold!  
> Anyway.  
> Disclaimer: I dont own Danganronpa, obviously. I do not own any of the characters, plot, etc.  
> ALSO: this is not really an accurate representation of DID, I've done a lot of research on it, but i do not actually have it, so i will not be able to tell you what it is actually like. what Hajime and Izuru have is a result of human experimentation, and loosely goes along the lines of DID, but it is not completely accurate.  
> TW: blood, death, and knives. If you are triggered by any of this, probably don't read the end of the chapter, or skip it altogether.

Hajime hated mornings. He got the feeling that he’d never really liked them, even before he got to the island. But now, waking up to Monokuma’s morning announcement sent a jolt of anger and fear through him every time, causing him to wake up in a bad mood. 

He sat up slowly, head throbbing. After the breakdown he’d had last night, he hadn't been able to fall asleep for hours, and when he’d finally been able to, it was barely restful. There had been no nightmares, thankfully. While he did want to know the story of how Izuru was created, he didn't think he’d be able to stomach another nightmare (memory?) like that for a while. 

Sudden pain spiked in his arm,and he winced. Raising his arm up, he realized that his knuckles were bruised and bloody from when he’d punched the bed last night. He didn't know what had come over him, he’d just wanted his mind to be quiet _so_ much, and that had been the only way his tired brain had thought it could happen. 

Gingerly, Hajime walked over to the small bathroom in his cottage, turning on the water in his sink. He ran the cold water over his hand, slowly washing the blood off, wincing as small jolts of pain went up his arm. 

_That's what you get for deciding to_ punch _wood. _Izuru said snarkily, speaking for the first time since Monokuma revealed that their memories were gone. 

_Shut up._ He replied. 

Hajime got the impression that Izuru was sighing. _At least properly treat the injury. _His tone was exasperated. 

Stubbornly, Hajime dried his hand off, the blood now gone, and did absolutely nothing to help the cuts. Completely ignoring Izuru, he was about to leave the cottage, when someone knocked on the door. Instantly, he was on guard. He knew he was being paranoid, but if he didn't know who it was…

_Calm down, it's just Nagito. He won't try anything yet._

Hajime scowled, but did relax marginally, as he opened the door. 

“Ah, Hajime!” Just as Izuru had said, Nagito was standing outside the door, beaming. “You weren't at the restaurant yet, so I was worried. Almost everyone is there by now.” 

Hajime forced a small smile. It was nice of him to come check, he supposed. “Thanks,” he said. “I was about to go there, actually. Sorry if I was late.” 

Nagito shook his head. “No, it's not a problem. Lets’ go!” 

Nodding, Hajime stepped out of the cottage, and closed the door, following Nagito to the hotel. _How did you know it was him?_ He asked Izuru curiously. 

_I heard both his footsteps and the knock. They're easily recognizable. And no one else would come to get you this early on, they don't know you well enough._

_F air point, _Hajime grudgingly agreed. 

As they walked, the passed a few of their classmates, who joined them, heading into the restaurant all at once. The second they entered the restaurant, he headed for the chair he’d sat in yesterday, waiting for someone to say something. 

The atmosphere was tense and still slightly awkward, but less so than the day before. As they got to know each other, they became more comfortable in each other's presence. 

Finally, Byakuya spoke up, standing from his chair. “Is everyone here?” He asked, surveying the room. 

“Fuyuhiko isn't,” Said Chiaki, and Hajime quickly looked around, realizing she was right. 

“I ran into him on my way here,” Peko explained. “He said he wouldn't be joining us today.” 

Byakuya sighed. “I must admit, I did expect that. Oh well, I suppose we must begin out discussion without him.” 

Hajime frowned. What discussion? Had he discovered something else? 

“I'm sure you all will be pleased to hear that I am throwing a party tonight,” he said loudly, grinning. 

_What?_ Whatever Hajime had been expecting, it wasn't this. Why would Byakuya suddenly decide to throw a party? He hadn't thought that he was the type of guy who even _liked_ parties. Unless… there was another reason. A reason he wasn't telling them. 

“A-a party?” Mikan asked, surprised. 

“Yes, an all-night party. Your absence is prohibited. You are required to go to it, no arguments.” 

Okay, something weird was _definitely_ going on. All night? And you _had_ to be there? Byakuya definitely had additional motives, though Hajime didn't know what they were. He didn't think he was trying to kill anyone… he was being too obvious for it. Maybe he was trying to prevent a murder from happening? _But if so, why tonight?_ He wondered, frowning to himself. 

“B-but why? This isn't really the time, is it?” Kazuichi asked nervously, tugging at his hair. 

“Yeah, he has a point. This isn't really the time. Or the place.” Mahiru agreed. 

“Actually…” Nagito spoke up. “This might be the perfect time. Having an event like this could let us get to know each other better and deepen our friendship… And we’re all obviously worried, so this could help us lift our spirits,” he glanced up at Byakuya. “Is that why you suggested a party?” 

“My reasons are not of any concern to you,” Byakuya snapped. “But it is necessary that we are all in one place tonight.” 

Even _more_ weird. Hajime was right. Byakuya wasn't telling them why. _But he isn't killing someone, so why is he doing this?_

 _Your amateur deductions are extremely boring, I must say._ Said Izuru. Hajime got the impression that he was rolling his eyes, 

_Well it's a good thing I wasn't talking to you,_ he shot back, annoyed at the insult. 

_Most things you think are, in fact, directed at me, subconsciously or not, so yes, actually, you were talking to me._

_I don't_ mean _to, then. You don't always have to comment on it!_

“We _could_ all use a distraction…” Nekomaru’s loud voice cut through his thoughts swiftly. 

“I'm on board!” Akane grinned.

Teruteru suddenly perked up. “If we are, in fact, throwing this party, could I be the one to handle the food?” 

“Where are we having it, then?” Chiaki asked. 

“I think we should have it in a more enclosed space, so that Monokuma can't get in easily,” Byakuya said, frowning. “Though I don't have anything that comes to mind.”

“Maybe the lobby?” 

“No, that's still too open,” Byakuya shook his head. 

“It can't be a cottage, they’ll be too cramped.” 

“How about we use that old building near the hotel?” Nagito asked. “That's the only place I can think of that’d fit the criteria.” 

“Didn't Monomi say something about it being under repair, though?” Said Peko, frowning. 

Suddenly, Monomi appeared in a flash of light, jumping around gleefully. “I heard you! If you want to strengthen your bonds of friendship, I'll gladly open the old building for you!” She beamed. 

“Ok!” Mahiru smiled. “We need to figure out what to do about the preparation, though. That place has got to be messy, so we’ll need to clean it.” 

There were several noises of complaints, and Hajime had to admit that he would not want to be the one who ended up cleaning it. 

“We could draw lots?” Nagito offered, digging into his pockets, and pulling out a handful of chopsticks. “I thought this might happen, so I came prepared.” 

Hajime frowned. That seemed oddly specific, even for Nagito. What exactly had he thought was going to happen? How would he have known? _And he’s been suggesting practically everything this whole time…_

Hajime decided to ignore it. Sure, it was weird, but it could just be a coincidence. Maybe Byakuya had asked Nagito for help. There was no reason for him to suspect anything. 

Everyone agreed to the lots’ idea, and Nagito smiled. “The person who has a red mark on their chopstick is the one who has to clean it, is that ok?” Everyone nodded, and began to take the chopsticks, one after another. 

Eventually, there was only one left for Nagito, who sighed when he saw it. “Well, I guess I have to clean it now,” he laughed. 

“So much for being the Ultimate Luck, huh?” Hajime teased, a small smile on his face. 

“Cleaning is one of the few things I'm actually good at, so I guess it's still good luck,” he shrugged. 

“Alright, leave the cooking to me!” Teruteru grinned, and began to mutter intensely about the ingredients he'd need. 

“Someone should tell Fuyuhiko about it, right?” Hajime asked, glancing at Byakuya, who nodded. 

“I can go tell him,” Peko said, and walked out of the hotel. Hajime frowned, noticing that Peko had also been the one to talk to Fuyuhiko that morning. Maybe Izuru was right, or maybe he was reading _way_ too far into it. 

“We shall disperse for the time being,” Byakuya said to the remaining group. “And meet at the old building after Monokuma’s evening announcement.” 

Everyone made various sounds of agreement, and slowly they began to leave the hotel. After a few minutes, Hajime left as well, walking past the cottages, and along the path to the beach. 

When he reached it, he sat down on the sand near the monitor. _The same monitor that Monokuma first appeared in,_ he thought absentmindedly, then pushed the thought out of his head quickly. He didn't want to think about Monokuma right now. 

He sat there for what felt like hours, staring out at the blue ocean, thoughts drifting. Eventually they came back to the party, and his initial concern resurfaced. _Izuru, why did Byakuya decide to throw the party?_ He asked suddenly, curiosity overcoming his concern. 

There was a long pause, and Hajime got the sense that Izuru was contemplating something. Finally, he spoke haltingly, almost as if he were hesitant to tell him. _I think you know why. Sooner or later, someone is going to snap from the pressure. Byakuya knows that._

Hajime shivered, cold wind shifting the sand around as he looked out at the ocean. He rubbed his arms in an attempt to keep warm, but to little avail. _But why tonight? Why’s he suddenly being so paranoid?_

 _It is likely that someone is manipulating his actions, though there is no proof._ Izuru admitted. 

_But then, in that case, who is it?_ There was a brief silence, and he looked down at his hands. _I guess we won’t know unless something happens._

“Hey, Hajime!” Someone called his name, and he jumped, glancing backwards to see Mahiru waving at him, Hiyoko in tow. He waved back uncertainly as he felt Izuru retreating to the back of his mind. 

The two girls made their way over to him, until Mahiru was standing beside him. “What’re you doing out here?” She asked curiously. 

“Just, you know,” he gestured aimlessly. “Thinking.”

She laughed, sitting down near him, gesturing for Hiyoko to join her. The shorter girl pouted, but complied, sitting closer to Mahiru. “What were you thinking about?” She asked. 

“Mostly the party. It just seems sort of weird, how it came out of nowhere.” 

She scowled. “The party is a smart thing to do! We all need something to lift our spirits, and this is the perfect thing. Us girls need some of you men to actually start sticking up and protecting us!”

 _There it is,_ Hajime thought sarcastically. “I’m not saying anything against it, I just think that Byakuya’s acting weird and I want to know what’s going on,” He pointedly ignored what she’d said about protecting them. 

“Pfft, you’re just being a wuss,” Hiyoko finally spoke up, giggling. “You’re all scared that something’s gonna happen! It’s sort of pathetic, honestly.” she snickered at him, and Hajime glared at her, ignoring the dent to his (already low) self-esteem. 

“Hiyoko, that isn’t very nice,” Mahiru chided her, frowning disapprovingly. 

Hiyoko rolled her eyes and sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know. But seriously, Hajime needs to chill out! Nothing’s gonna happen, he’s just being paranoid.”

Hajime managed a laugh, still a little bitter about her earlier comment, but he figured that was as close as she came to an apology. “Probably,” he said, shrugging. “But it’d better to be safe than sorry,” 

Mahiru nodded, smiling. “True enough, I suppose. I have to admit though, I’m kind of looking forward to it.”

Hiyoko grinned. “It’s probably going to be dumb. I don’t really want to go, I’ll be bored to tears!” She simpered. 

“Hiyoko!”

Hajime chuckled to himself as he saw Mahiru scold Hiyoko again. They did have a point, he was being a bit paranoid, but he had a good reason. _But even so_ , he thought, _Maybe nothing will happen. Everyone’s there, we’d all see if something did._

_It’ll all be fine._

***

_Nagito smiled to himself as he placed the knife under the table._

_Everything was going as planned. No one suspected anything. He was sure they would be upset when they saw what he’d done, but it didn’t matter. He was a stepping stone. This would inspire future hope._

_He knew it._

_***_

The rest of the day passed quickly. Hajime has spent a little more time with Mahiru and Hiyoko, but after a while, he’d left. He passed the time by walking around the island, occasionally talking to someone. By the time night fell, he was back in his cottage, staring up at the ceiling. 

Suddenly, the monitor in his room came to life, and Monokuma’s face appeared, announcing that it was 10 pm. He sighed, sitting up. “Time to go to the party,” He muttered, stretching. 

_Be wary. Something will happen, you cannot let your guard down,_ Izuru reminded him, as he left his cottage, closing the door behind him. 

Hajime snorted. _Thanks, my confidence is going through the roof right now._

Izuru sighed, but didn’t respond, and Hajime was silently grateful. Izuru might be insanely smart, but he didn’t exactly know how to sugarcoat anything. Everything he’d said so far was blunt and borderline rude, not unlike Hajime in that regard, though he knew when he was crossing the line. He got the feeling Izuru didn’t. 

As he walked, he passed two or three classmates, who were headed in the same direction. As he entered the old building, he was hit by the smell of dust. It was extremely run down and shabby compared to the hotel, but he ignored it, moving forward towards Byakuya, who was standing at the end of the hall.

Upon seeing him, Byakuya sneered. “So, you chose to come…” Suddenly, he stepped closer, waving his hands. “Well? What are you waiting for? Hold out your arms,” He demanded. 

“What?! Why?” Hajime asked, startled. 

“I’m preforming a body check, obviously.” 

_A body check? That’s a bit overkill._ Hajime frowned. _Seriously, what is_ up _with him today? Something had to have happened to make him this paranoid._ Nevertheless, he allowed Byakuya to poke and prod at him, ignoring how awkward it was. Distantly, he could feel Izuru’s discomfort at being scrutinized becoming more prominent, and just as he was about to ask about it, Byakuya finished, an Izuru relaxed. 

“It seems you aren’t carrying any dangerous items,” He said, stepping out of their personal space and crossing his arms. 

“O-of course I’m not!” Hajime protested, scowling. As his gaze drifted to the floor, a large grey case caught his attention. “Oh hey, what’re those?” He pointed at them. 

“Duralumin cases, obviously. I found them at the supermarket,” Byakuya explained haughtily. “One, I store dangerous items and potential weapons in, and the other… Let’s just say, that’s for if there’s trouble.”

“Trouble?” Hajime raised an eyebrow. 

“It is not for you to worry about. Go wait in the main hall, some of the others are there too.” Abruptly, he ended the conversation, walking away. 

Bewildered, Hajime walked towards the area he assured to be the main hall. What Byakuya had said earlier had nearly confirmed what Izuru said earlier; someone was going to snap eventually, and Byakuya knew that. Though, the level of dedication he had, with the body checks, the cases, something else had to have happened. _I just don’t know what._ He thought to himself. 

Sighing, he opened the door to the main hall. A bright wave of colours hit him, and it took him a second to comprehend what he was seeing. The room was brightly lit, a clear contrast to the rest of the place, with a vibrant carpet and tables of food set out. There were people waiting, just as Byakuya had said, chatting amongst themselves. It was actually quite nice, though Hajime didn’t envy Nagito for having to clean it up. 

“Hey Hajime!” Nagito said, startling him out of his thoughts, as he popped up from seemingly nowhere. “How do you like it?” 

“Hm? Like what?” He asked, only half paying attention. 

“The way I decorated the hall, of course! I even got out a carpet from the supermarket and everything,” He smiled. “It took me a whole day just to clean out the hall, it was all covered in dust and cobwebs before I got here.”

Hajime raised an eyebrow, impressed. “That’s pretty impressive, I’d’ve never been able to do that.” Nagito shrugged modestly, but his smile grew wider at the compliment. 

“Yeah, I gotta admit, you did a pretty good job,” Mahiru joined the conversation. “But there is a limit, right? Like, you couldn’t do much about the floorboards besides use the carpet.”

Nagito nodded. “Yeah, that was honestly my biggest problem. The wood rotted so much it would’ve probably been dangerous to walk on if I hadn’t found the carpet.” 

Hajime glanced down at the floor, realizing they were right. They floorboards had shrunk from the rot, leaving gaps between them. The carpet Nagito had laid out did a good job of covering it, but he could see some spots where it didn’t go far enough. 

“Maybe someone should tell Mikan, she seems like she’d trip over anything,” Mahiru joked, and Nagito and Hajime laughed slightly, before the doors opened, and Byakuya entered the room. 

“Sorry to keep all of you waiting,” he said. “Teruteru is in the kitchen, and it seems Fuyuhiko is not coming at all.” He directed the last part at Peko who nodded. 

“I did tell him of our gathering tonight, but…” She trailed off, but everyone could fill in the blanks. Fuyuhiko wasn’t coming. 

“Don’t worry, Peko,” Mahiru reassured her, smiling. “It’s not you’re fault he’s not going.”

Byakuya sighed, but didn’t object. Suddenly, he straightened, walking briskly over to the tables of food, and grabbed several handfuls of the meat that was laid out. “What is this?” He demanded, holding it up. “This meat is attached to steel skewers! That is extremely dangerous, and as the person in charge, I must confiscate them!” He huffed, sliding the meat off of the skewers, and marched over to Teruteru, who’d just entered the room. “What were you thinking, using such dangerous implements in your food?”

Teruteru gasped. “Dangerous? B-but this is a legendary South American skewered meat dish!” He protested. “You’re telling me I can’t use _skewers?_ ” 

Byakuya scowled, glaring at Teruteru, who shrank under his gaze. “By your reaction, I assume there are other foods that contain things like these,” He walked over to the door, then turned back, gesturing at Hajime. “Hajime, come with me. We have work to do.”

Helplessly, Hajime glanced back at Mahiru and Nagito, who looked close to laughing. “Screw you guys,” he grumbled, and he heard Mahiru giggling at his misfortune as he left the room. 

He ran down the hall, following Byakuya as he led him to the kitchen. As he entered, Byakuya was already looking through the shelves, picking out knives and forks, and placing them in the case. 

“Um…” Hajime spoke up. “Is all of this really necessary?”

“Of course it is. I promised, not a single victim.” He replied curtly, clearly wanting to end the conversation. 

Hajime frowned. _That’s a bit of a weak argument._ “And… that’s it?” He pressed. 

Byakuya looked up sharply, meeting Hajime’s eyes. “What do you mean, ‘that’s it’?”

“Well, I thought… maybe something happened? You suggested we have a party out of nowhere, I wondered if there might be another reason.”

Byakuya was silent for a few seconds before replying. “There isn’t another reason,” He said firmly. “For a long time now, suspecting people has been second nature for me.”

“What? Why?” 

He sighed. “My life, in short, was a nightmare in the past. I do not want to go into it further, but there were people I couldn’t trust, people who couldn’t trust me… It is unsurprising that my personality would be affected. But, as it appears, that has come in handy on the island.” He trailed off, staring into space. 

Hajime knew that if he pressed him any more, he would only shut down. No one on the island had exactly _talked_ about their life before coming to the island, but he got the sense that Byakuya would be the most tight-lipped about it, compared to the others. 

_They_ are _a very private person, though if all goes according to plan tonight, they will have no choice but to tell you the whole story eventually. _Izuru added. 

“Enough useless talk. We must collect the dangerous items.” Byakuya spoke up just as Hajime was about to reply to Izuru, but he complied, searching around for any knives, or sharp objects. The conversation had left him with more questions than he’d began with, though he knew he would have to wait for te answers. Izuru clearly knew, though it was obvious he wasn’t going to say anything. 

As he searched, he silently marvelled at the food Teruteru had prepared. It was amazing, the range he’d created. There was even a gigantic meat on the bone, looking like it was straight out of a five-star restaurant. It made him slightly jealous, how obviously talented he was, when Hajime couldn’t even remember his own. Was there anything he could do to this degree? Did he have something in which he excelled at to this level? 

“Ah, I have found a list of the kitchen’s inventory,” Byakuya said, gesturing for Hajime to come look at it. “20 knives, 20 forks, 5 skewers, frying pans, wine glasses, even a first aid kit and flashlight. I suppose those two are there in case of an injury, I found them over by the stove. But there seems to be something missing...”

“ _WHAT?!”_ A loud cry rang out from the door, and Hajime turned to see Teruteru standing there, gaping at the kitchen. “You’re making such a mess! My chef’s knives! And the tableware! Where are they?”

“Calm down, I am merely confiscating any dangerous item I find.”

“B-but, you’re saying cooking utensils are dangerous?” The short boy sighed, shaking his head. “At least I’m done making the food, but…” Suddenly, he threw himself at Hajime, sobbing into his shoulder. “My poor cooking utensils!”

“Hey, let go of me!” Hajime snapped, shoving Teruteru off of him. 

“Aw, you’re rejecting me? My fantasies are shattered!” Teruteru sobbed dramatically. 

“Oh my God…” Hajime placed his head in his hands, ignoring the sounds of Teruteru’s wailing. 

“Be quiet,” Byakuya snapped. “According to this, you are missing two skewers!” 

Hajime glanced down at Teruteru, who frowned. “That’s right… I column’t find them when I first got here, and I was too busy cooking to look for them. But, it _is_ an older building, things are bound to go missing sometimes.” He admitted. 

Byakuya’s expression turned thoughtful, as he seemed to consider something. “Hm,” He said eventually, looking up. “We can search for it later, but right now, we need to be getting back to the hall. They will be waiting for us.” 

Hajime silently agreed. They couldn’t be gone for _too_ long, not when everyone was waiting for Byakuya to properly start the party. He followed the taller boy out of the kitchen, Teruteru trailing along behind them. They reached the main hall, and the second the doors were open, Akane pounced onto them. 

“What took you so long?!” She demanded. “I’m starving!” 

Byakuya sighed, rolling his eyes at her. “Just wait a little longer, there is still something we have to address,” he spoke over Akane’s grumbling. “We need to place one of the cases here in a safe spot,” He gestured to the cases at his feet.

“Huh?” Hajime frowned. “Why can’t you leave it in here, and watch over it?”

“I want to be extra cautious tonight, I don’t want to have any risks.”

“Oh!” Sonia spoke up, beaming. “I have found a storage room near the end of the hallway, would that suffice?”

“No, that’s too unprotected…”

“I could guard it,” Peko volunteered, stepping forward. “I do not particularly care for parties, I wouldn’t mind.”

“If you’re going to guard it, I wouldn’t recommend the storage area. It’s full of cobwebs, and it’s super dark,” Nagito, who’d walked over to stand next to Hajime without him realizing, said. “Sorry, I could’ve cleaned it up for you, but my hands were full with the main hall.”

“Well, what about the office, then? She could easily guard it there,” Byakuya suggested. 

Peko nodded, and after Nagito confirmed that it was in a decent state, she left the room, carrying the case with her. Hajime frowned, an uneasy feeling churning in his stomach. Despite the precautions that were being taken… would it be enough? 

“Hey, what about that case?” Hiyoko pointed at the second one. “Shouldn’t she take it too?”

“That one stays with me.” Byakuya’s clipped tone silenced any other questions that would have been asked, though Hajime knew that everyone had plenty. “There is still another issue, however.” He continued, ignoring the groans and complaints from Akane and Hiyoko. “Monokuma. Someone needs to keep him out. That would involve standing guard at the front of the building, alone.”

 _Wait, but doesn’t the building have cameras inside? Can’t he see what’s going on in here anyways?_ Hajime wondered.

 _They are boring, simple people, what did you expect? They aren’t thinking about the cameras because they want to feel more in control of the situation. Not that the control exists, of course, but they like to think it does._ Izuru supplied unhelpfully. 

_Thanks, Izuru, that really helps me. You’re_ so _good at_ not _insulting someone every five goddamn minutes._ Hajime shot back, ignoring Izuru’s faint amusement at his statement.

_I was created to be the best, not kind._

Before he could consider what Izuru’s words had meant, he realized that Chiaki was agreeing to watch outside, for Monokuma. “I can try to get Monomi to help, she might be able to control, or at least distract him.” She was saying, already walking to leave the room. Once again, seeing her made a spike of pain slam into his skull, and memories danced underneath the grey static that hid them from him. 

The second Chiaki was gone, Akane turned to Byakuya, looking almost rabid. “We can start now, right? I can-”

“Yes, yes, you can begin!” 

Instantly, Akane dove for the food, shovelling it into her mouth. Hajime laughed at the shocked expressions on everyones' faces, and soon enough, everyone was laughing, and talking amongst themselves once again. There was an air of lighthearted freedom in the room, and people were acting just as cheerful as they had at the beach. _ ~~ **Before Monokuma arrived,**~~_ his brain reminded, him, and a chill went down his spine as he remembered Monokuma’s first appearance.

Determinedly, he ignored his uneasiness, and walked over to where Mahiru and Hiyoko were. Mahiru was taking pictures, Hiyoko talking about something or other, gesturing empathetically. “Hey guys,” He said when he was within earshot. 

“Ew, Hajime! I can’t believe I have to see your ugly face again!” Hiyoko giggled snidely, but it was clear that she was teasing this time, unlike earlier. 

“Be grateful, that’s about as close to a ‘hi, nice to see you’ as Hiyoko gets,” Mahiru joked, grinning. 

“Mahiru!” The blonde whined, pouting. 

The redhead ignored her, turning to Hajime. “So, Byakuya dragged you off, earlier? What was he making you do, exactly?” She asked curiously. 

“Oh, he just wanted me to help him look around the kitchen for knives and stuff. Teruteru came in and freaked when he saw the mess.” He laughed, remembering the expression of terror on the chef’s face. 

Hiyoko snickered. “I’d have paid big money to see that,” 

“It was pretty hilarious, I have to admit.”

“Guys!” Mahiru frowned. “You shouldn’t make fun of your classmate like that. Especially you, Hajime, since he’s a fellow boy.” Then, she smiled, and held up her camera, snapping a picture of Hajime and Hiyoko, the latter of whom screeched in surprise, and made a grab for the camera, shouting ‘delete it!’ at her. 

“Hajime,” Byakuya said from behind him, and he turned to face the blond, seeing Mahiru and Hiyoko do the same out of the corner of his eye. “I believe I told you that we would be looking for the skewers?” 

Hajime frowned. “Well, yeah, but I didn’t think it really mattered that much.”

“I would help you, but I need to watch over the second case here, and I do not trust anyone else to do it. Perhaps you could take Mahiru or Hiyoko with you?” He suggested, glancing back at the two girls. 

“I’m sorry, but Sonia asked me to take more pictures of her, but maybe Hiyoko could help?” Mahiru looked down at the shorter girl, who pouted. 

“But _Mahiru_ ,” She whined. “I don’t wanna go and look for some stupid skewers!” 

“Don’t worry, you’ll be with Hajime, he won’t do anything, _right?”_ Mahiru glared at Hajime, clearly suggesting that if he did anything Hiyoko didn’t like, he would end up in a very bad situation. He nodded, slightly terrified of the intensity in her eyes. 

“ Ugh, _fine,_ I guess I’ll help stupid Hajime find his stupid skewers.” She finally conceded, scowling up at Byakuya. Hajime almost laughed, the angry expression looking very out of place on someone who looked so young. 

“Very well,” Byakuya turned to leave. “Begin by searching the kitchen, come to me if you find anything.” 

Hajime nodded, waving goodbye to Mahiru, leaving the room, Hiyoko sighing heavily after him. They made their way to the kitchen in silence, but the second they entered, Hiyoko made a beeline for the pots, and began throwing them around, a devilish smirk on her face. 

Rolling his eyes in both amusement and annoyance, he joined her in searching, though he was much neater, and made much less noise. Behind him, he heard the door open, and a shriek of horror. Startled, he whipped around, seeing Teruteru, once again, standing in the doorway. 

“You-you! I had- I was almost done- you _heathens-”_ The short boy sputtered, looking absolutely horrified. 

“Pfft, you really weren’t kidding, his expression is hilarious!” Hiyoko doubled over, laughing. Hajime had a hard time not smiling or laughing at the situation before him. After a few seconds, Hiyoko straightened, wiping tears out of her eyes, still giggling. 

“What are you doing in here?!” Teruteru cried, waving his arms around dramatically. 

Hajime began to explain, as Hiyoko continued to rummage around in a cupboard near the floor. “Byakuya asked us to help him find the two missing skewers-”

“And we just found one!” Hiyoko said, holding up a long, thin skewer triumphantly. “Time to bring it back to Byakuya! Our boring-ass job here is done!” Clearly ready to be done searching, she dashed off into the hall. After shooting a slightly apologetic look at Teruteru, Hajime ran after her. 

“We found one,” Said Hajime, once they were back in the main hall. Byakuya was standing near the table, guarding the case. “It was in the kitchen.” 

Byakuya nodded, and glanced up at the clock. “That was fast,” he commented, turning to unlatch the case, opening it wide. Hajime couldn’t see what was inside, but as Byakuya reached in and held out a pair of what looked like a helmet with goggles and handed it to Hiyoko as he put the skewer inside made Hajime pause. Why would he have something like that in such a heavily protected case? 

Suddenly, a loud beeping noise filled the hall for a brief second, and they were all plunged into darkness. 

“What the…” Hajime spun around wildly. It was pitch black. 

Someone screamed, and he flinched.

“W-what the hell?” That sounded like Ibuki, but he still couldn’t _see,_ so he wan’t sure.

“Hey, I can’t see my food!” Akane, definitely Akane. 

“Someone turn the lights back on!” That could have either been Sonia or Mahiru, he wasn’t sure which.

“Hey, what’re you-” Hiyoko?

“Ouch!”

There was a loud crash, followed by a groan of pain. 

“I’ll go along the walls, may-maybe I can find the breaker!” 

“Everyone stay calm!” That was Byakuya, Hajime could hear him to his left, but he still couldn’t make out anything in the darkness. Had his eyes not adjusted? Or… _The plates on the walls! They must be covering the windows. So_ that’s _why we can’t see anything._

 _"_ Guys?" Was that Teruteru? "I thought the blackout was only in the kitchen!" 

"Turn the lights back on!" 

After a minute of two of uneasy silence, occasionally broken by someone saying something, the lights turned back on, and Hajime breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, there was another crash, and someone screamed again. Turning to see what’d happened, he almost instantly turned away. Mikan had tripped, her skirt riding up. She’d fallen into a table, causing food to fall on top of her. Quickly, Mahiru helped her up, a few people laughing at the misfortune of the girl. 

“Mahiru, that would’ve made a great picture!” Ibuki winked at her, grinning. 

“Hey, I don’t take those kinds of pictures!”

As they argued, Mikan moved away from the conversation, closer to Hajime. “Hey, are you okay?” He asked quietly. “That seemed pretty painful.”

“O-oh!” She seemed startled by the question. “I-I’m fine, th-thank you for asking!” She beamed. Hajime felt a bit bad for her, she obviously wasn’t used to people caring about her wellbeing. 

“Oh, Kazuichi, thank you for turning the light’s back on!” Sonia turned to Kazuichi, who’d just re-entered the room. 

“Huh? Oh, that wasn’t me, I couldn’t make it to the office in the darkness.” He said, his expression turning to one of confusion.

“Oh…” Mahiru said from beside Hajime, frowning. “I just realized… Have any of you seen Hiyoko? I was waiting for her to get back.”

“What’re you talking about, she’s right-” Hajime stopped, realizing that, in fact, Hiyoko was no longer beside Byakuya. “Where’d she go?” 

“What? Hiyoko is missing?” Sonia asked, surprised. “But I saw her in here not moments before the power went out.”

Dread filled Hajime, as he looked around, trying to see if he could find her anywhere. Something about this… didn’t feel right. The earlier worry and paranoia returned, full force, and he wanted to go back to his cottage and hide for the rest of the night. 

“Wait…” Akane said, pausing her eating. “Do.... do you guys smell that?”

“What’re you talking about, none of us smell anything,” Byakuya complained impatiently. 

“It smells like… blood. Coming from under there.” She pointed at the far table. 

Fear hit Hajime, knocking the air out of his lungs. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t even _think_. Nervousness ran through his veins like poison, freezing him in place. Everyone else felt it too, he could tell. No one moved for a long time. 

_You know what has happened. You cannot deny it any longer._

Izuru’s words broke him out of his trance, and he moved forward, slowly, slowly walking towards the table. As he reached it, he could feel the tension rising, he could feel every stare at his back, like a hawk watching it’s prey. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he already knew what would be under that table. He'd known it since the power came back on. 

In one movement, Hajime grasped every ounce of courage he had, and whipped the tablecloth back. He instantly wished he hadn’t. 

Laying under the table, covered in blood and face down, was Hiyoko. 

Hajime screamed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.  
> Me; ah yes, everyone is happy and wholesome, and no one is going to die.  
> Me, two minutes later: well, i lied.
> 
> I was originally going to kill off Mahiru, but then i realized that she's too important to the next motive to actually kill her, so here you go! I'm sure most of you can guess who the blackened is, if you've played the game, but who knows, right? It might be completely different!  
> What was yall's reactions to Hiyoko's death?  
> Thanks for reading!


	7. Ch. 6: (your) Memories Are Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation approaches, Mahiru mourns, and Hajime realizes that someone he trusted isn't as trustworthy as he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhhhh man, this chapter gave me the feels. I dont like Hiyoko that much, but i was still so mad at myself for killing her.  
> The next chapter will be the trial, so it will be VERY long. I am actually really looking forward to writing it lmao.  
> TW: Death, murder, corpses, knives, blood, and intrusive thoughts, so if yall get triggered by those, dont read this chapter because there isn't really a break from any of it.

**_*Ding dong, ding dong*_ **

**_A body has been discovered!_ **

**_After a short investigation period, we will proceed with the class trial!_ **

_***_

Hajime stared down at the dead body of Hiyoko Saionji in horror. It wasn’t real, it couldn’t actually be happening… It was all a lie. It had to be. 

Hiyoko wasn’t actually dead, right?

“W-what the hell!?” Someone cried. 

Someone screamed. 

“NO!” A red blur sped past Hajime. Mahiru threw herself at Hiyoko, pulling her out from under the table, and turning her over in desperation.

Hajime almost threw up at the sight of Hiyoko’s blonde hair stained red, her glassy eyes staring up at the ceiling, and the three bloody stab wounds in her throat and chest. The blood was spreading, seeping into the wood and carpet. There was _so much blood, why is there so much blood-_

Mahiru sobbed, holding Hiyoko’s body as she cried. “Please Hiyoko, _please,”_ She pleaded. The sound of her gut-wrenching sobs filled the silent hall. No one spoke, or moved, frozen in horror and fear. 

Hajime finally broke out of his trance, stepping forward to crouch beside her. “Mahiru…” he said, his voice horse. “You need to let go of her,” He gently grabbed her arms, pulling her away. 

“B-but she might not be-” She broke off, her voice choked. “She m-might not be-” She stopped again, unable to say it. 

Hajime wanted to cry, wanted to scream at Monokuma, wanted to do _anything_ that could reverse what had happened. But he couldn’t, not now, not when Mahiru was like this. “She’s- Mahiru, she’s dead.” His voice broke, and he realized that he was crying. 

His words seemed to break everyone out of their paralysis, and they began to speak in low voices, a few of them walking over to them. 

“No,” Mahiru shook her head frantically, tears running down her face. “No! She’s not- she isn’t-” Suddenly, she stopped, and almost collapsed, if it weren’t for Hajime and Ibuki catching her. She stared down at the floor, completely silent. She’d accepted it. 

Hiyoko was dead.

***

Hajime was barely listening when Monokuma showed up and explained the investigation period, and the class trials. He was in a daze, still processing what had happened to Hiyoko. He realized that Mahiru still had blood all over her shirt and hands from when she’d been holding her. Glancing down, he realized that he too, had blood on his hands, likely from when he’d pulled Mahiru away. It made him feel sick. 

“H-how could this have happened?” Someone asked, cutting through the fog that clouded his mind. 

“He-he wants us to search for Hiyoko’s killer…” Peko said, staring at the back table. 

~~** _(It’s not like she hasn’t seen dead bodies before, so why’s she so shocked this time, huh?)_ ** ~~

“We can’t do that, though… we have to believe in each other,” Chiaki said weakly, glancing around rapidly. 

“B-but we have to!” Kazuichi cried. “If we don’t, we’ll all end up like that!” He gestured wildly at Hiyoko’s body. 

“If you’re-” Mahiru spoke up, glaring at him, before Byakuya cut her off. 

“We owe it to her, do we not?” He was pale, and he looked like he was about to be sick, but carried on. “She deserves to have her killer exposed. We couldn’t stop it from happening, so this is all we can do now.” He was doing a good job of pretending to be unaffected, but Hajime saw right through it. He felt guilty. He’d sworn that no one was going to die, but… someone had. And he hadn’t been able to do anything to stop it. 

“B-but-” Sonia stammered, wiping her tears away. “I have only just made friends! How can I doubt them?” 

Hajime looked up. “We don’t have a choice…” He said softly, but in the otherwise quiet hall, his voice rang out. “I hate this as much as you, but… whether or not we like it… we don’t have a choice. We have to.” 

“I-I hate this too, but…” Mikan trailed off, looking down at the floor. 

“I… I can’t believe that one of us could’ve done this,” Nagito spoke for the first time since Monokuma had left. “But… I’m going to investigate her death and prove none of us did it!” He still looked upset, but determination shone in his eyes. 

_The worst part is that we have no choice,_ he thought. _I don’t want to do this, but if we don’t, we’ll all die… I don’t want that to happen._

 _In order to survive, sometimes we must do things that we hate. You need to learn and accept that as part of your life now. _Izuru’s voice was hard, but Hajime saw the truth in his words.

“Okay…” Said Chiaki. “Before we begin this, in the closed-circle mystery games I’ve played, usually someone guards the crime scene. Maybe we should do that?”

“Oh, I see! So the culprit doesn’t destroy the evidence, right?” Ibuki asked, attempting to smile with her usual enthusiasm. 

“Well, it should totally be someone like Nekomaru then! He’s super strong!” Kazuichi pointed out. 

Everyone turned to Nekomaru, but he stayed silent under their watch. After a few seconds, he held his head in his hands and screamed, running out of the room before anyone could say anything. 

“I… I can do it.” Mahiru volunteered. 

“Mahiru, are you-” 

“Yes,” She cut Hajime off before he could finish. “I’m sure. I won’t be useful to the investigation, I’m not that smart. A-and I need to watch over her, and make- make sure no one does anything.” She started crying again as she finished. She ignored the worried glanced from everyone, and walked over to the table where Hiyoko’s body was. 

“I- I’m going to try my hardest!” Mikan said suddenly, clasping her hands together. “I know e-enough to know how to examine a-a body, s-so, um, please let me do what I can as a medical o-officer!” With that, she rushed off to follow Mahiru, nearly tripping over the carpet as she went. 

“U-um, Ibuki has a question!” Ibuki raised her hand, a worried frown on her face. “What are the rest of us supposed to do to help? Ibuki has no clue how to solve a murder!” 

“That’s true… We’re all amatures, we aren’t trained to do this.” Nagito said, frowning. 

“We have no choice but to do this,” Byakuya said. “We must, at least, try to discover anything and everything we can about this situation, and exactly what happened.”

“I don’t want to believe any of this, but… I’ll do what I can!” Teruteru proclaimed. 

_Investigating our friends… is that really right? It goes against all of my morals, but… so does killing. Someone did this, and we have to figure out who no matter what._ Hajime thought reluctantly. He hated that he had to suspect his friends, but he hated the fact that one of them killed another more. 

_~~ **(** **Suspecting your friends, Hajime? How low can you get, huh? It must be so despair-inducing, right? You couldn’t do anything to help poor, little Hiyoko, and now you’re suspecting your friends, you’re such a failure)** ~~ _

Just as he was about to leave the room to investigate, Monokuma popped up again, scaring the small group. “Before you all get too ahead of yourself, I gotta give you one more thing!” The bear said, grinning evilly. “The Monokuma File!” He held up what looked like an iPad, with the words MONOKUMA FILE on it. 

“Wha- Why do we need this?” Kazuichi asked. 

“Geez, I really hate having to explain myself to you! The Monokuma File kindly collects, and confirms information about the body, which’ll be necessary for amatures like you! I’m far too nice to you lot, aren’t I?” 

Monokuma shoved the file into Hajime’s hands before vanishing before anyone could ask anything else. He sighed, but figured that he may as well take a look. As he scrolled through it, several people crowded behind him to read it. 

**_VICTIM:_ ** _HIYOKO SAIONJI_

 **_AGE:_ ** _[REDACTED]_

 **_GENDER_ ** _**:** F_

 **_LOCATION OF DEATH:_ ** _MAIN HALL OF THE OLD BUILDING NEAR HOTEL MIRAI_

 **_CAUSE OF DEATH:_ ** _STABBING FROM A SHARP OBJECT. THE VICTIM WAS STABBED MULTIPLE TIMES BETWEEN THE THROAT AND STOMACH_

 **_TIME OF DEATH:_ ** _11:31 PM_

 **_KILER:_ ** _[REDACTED]_

_**THERE WERE NO OTHER WOUNDS ON THE BODY, NOR ANY TRACES OF POISON AND OTHER DRUGS**._

Hajime felt like throwing up. Reading this made Hiyoko’s death seem far more real. He remembered how hard she laughed in the kitchen, how _alive_ she’d seemed. She would never laugh again now, thanks to whoever had done this. 

Sighing, Hajime handed the Monokuma File over to Ibuki, and slowly walked over to the table where Mahiru and Mikan were. He braced himself for the sight of Hiyoko’s body, and grimaced when it came into view. Mikan had dragged Hiyoko from where she’d been half out from under the table, and she was now examining her away from the table. 

Mahiru was leaning against the table, her freckles standing out against the paleness of her face. She glanced down at Hiyoko and Mikan every few seconds, flinching each time. Hajime felt bad for her, she’d been quite close to Hiyoko, despite knowing each other for only a few days. If someone he’d been that close to died…

 _Focus._ Izuru interrupted his thoughts. _You’re investigating, you can’t try to comfort her right now._

Hajime hated that he was right. Taking a deep breath, he passed by Mikan, and knelt beside the table. Blood covered the inside of the tablecloth, the smell invading his nostrils, as he inhaled sharply. He squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds, and when he opened them, they fell upon what looked like binoculars, then he froze. Those were what Byakuya had handed Hiyoko right before the blackout. So, she’d still had them on her when she died. 

_T hose are night vision goggles,_ Izuru cut in. _I assume he got them from the supermarket._

 _Why would he have vision goggles though? He said that the case was for emergencies, so what else was in there?_ He made a mental note to check inside the case later. 

He looked around more, spotting a bloodstained knife beside the goggles. Was that the murder weapon? But then, why leave it under the table? Frowning, he inspected it closer, noticing that there was some sort of glowing paint on the handle. He glanced up, seeing a piece of tape on the underside of the table that had the same glowing paint. It also looked to be partially torn off, which instantly seemed strange to Hajime. 

_Why would there be the same type of paint on both of them? Unless… the tape was used to hide the knife under the table!_ Hajime nodded to himself. That seemed the most likely. _But why would they put the knife under the table in the first place, and when would they have gotten the chance?_ The only people who’d been in the old building all day were… Teruteru and Nagito. 

Hajime resolutely ignored his previous thoughts, and turned his focus back on the investigation. He glanced around, noticing that the blood was covering most of the inside of the tablecloth, but all of it was only _under_ the table. _Well, that means she wasn’t dragged under there._ He thought, frowning. How could she have died under the table, but not have the blood splatter outside of it? It didn’t make sense. 

Sighing, he took a step back. Being near the place where Hiyoko… died, was making him feel even more on edge. **_~~(Wow, you can barely even say it! Is it too upsetting for you? Oh no, poor Hajime, he could never handle seeing dead bodies.)~~_**

“Hajime?” Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he jumped, spinning around to face them. It was Nagito, his expression worried. “Are you okay?” He paused, then laughed mirthlessly. “Sorry, stupid question. I’d probably be worried if you were okay in this situation.” 

Hajime nodded. “I’m just thinking. It’s weird how she was with me and Byakuya until the blackout, but then she turned up under the table. And she wasn’t dragged there, or anything, there’d be blood on the floor if she was.” He blinked, feeling like he’d just come out of a trance. “Sorry, this is just really messed up and confusing.” 

Nagito shook his head, contemplating something. “No, I get what you’re saying. We couldn’t see anything, so how did she get under the table? Did someone hear what happened, maybe?” 

_Ibuki. Her hearing is inhumanly good, she will have heard everything._ Izuru said suddenly. 

_So you’re saying I should go talk to her and see what she heard? But what if she’s the one who did it?_ Hajime doubted that it was really her, but he couldn’t be too sure, not now. 

Izuru sighed. _Do you remember what I told you when we first came to the island? Ibuki is highly unlikely to kill someone unless provoked. She may be curious about your missing memories, and she might want to leave the island, but she wouldn't succumb to it this quickly._

 _Okay, okay, I get it. Ibuki isn’t the killer._ Hajime rolled his eyes. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mahiru sit down and place her head in her hands. Worry overtook his thoughts, and he walked over, crouching down beside her. “You okay?” 

Okay?” She chuckled bitterly. “Of course not. This is complete madness. Hiyoko is… gone, and someone here did it. We have to try to find out _who_ now, on top of everything else.” 

“I know…” Hajime scowled, glaring at the carpet. “But we don’t have a choice. This isn’t every man for himself, this has to be for everyone. We’re _all_ dead if we don’t figure this out.” 

She nodded sadly. “Yeah, I know. I just… If I hadn’t asked Hiyoko to help you and just done it myself, she wouldn’t be…” She trailed off, looking at Hiyoko’s body, being inspected by Mikan. “I feel so _useless!_ I need to do _something_ to help!” Suddenly, she perked up. “Wait! My photos! I took photos of everyone before the blackout!”

Hajime frowned, unsure of where she was going with this. “What do those have to do with the investigation, though?” He asked curiously. 

“Well, I thought it was weird at first, but,” She spoke quickly, flipping through the pictures on her camera. “Hiyoko was with you and Byakuya right before the blackout, right? So, how’d she end up under a table that was across the room?” She held up her camera, the picture showing Hajime, Byakuya, and Hiyoko standing around the case on the opposite side of the room. “See? You were way over there,” She pointed. “So how did she get over here in the dark?” 

Hajime blinked. “You’re right,” He breathed. Now he had even more to think about. “Would you be able to tell where everyone was before the blackout?” He asked suddenly. 

“Maybe, why?”

“It might come in handy, you made a really good point about how she got over here.” _How_ would _she have been able to get over there? It was dark, no one could see-_ Wait. The night vision goggles. Someone could have worn them to see where they were going! And Hiyoko was holding them right before she died, so she was the only one! But then, how did the killer see anything? 

“Sure thing,” Mahiru broke him out of his thoughts. “I’ll try to draw something, then we can all use it.” She stood up, walking briskly off to get the supplies. 

_Now I need to find Ibuki._ He thought, glancing around. He didn’t see her anywhere, and he was about to leave, before something caught his eye. In the corner of the room, there was a large air conditioner. _Isn’t that… what that beeping noise came from earlier?_ Frowning, he stepped closer. Upon closer inspection, he realized there was a remote control, determining when the air conditioner was set to turn on. 

It was set to 11:30 pm. Exactly a minute before Hiyoko died. 

_The blackout was happening for about a minute as well…_ The air conditioner turned on at the exact time of the blackout, then. _That can’t be just a coincidence._

_I doubt it, seeing as we know someone already set up a knife under the table._

_Yeah, but what does the air conditioning have to do with any of that?_

_T he blackout was deliberate. The person who set up this murder clearly wanted it to happen. _

Hajime paused, thinking hard. The blackout was deliberate…? _Are you saying that the air conditioner somehow caused the blackout? But that would be impossible, unless there was something else that added to it._

_There likely is another device that helped cause the power surge, though we have no way of knowing what exactly it is right now._

_So we need to look around to see if anything could’ve done that._ Hajime sighed. There were so many things he needed to keep track of during the investigation, he wasn’t sure if he’d remember it all. He still needed to talk to Ibuki, maybe he could look for something that could’ve caused a power surge while he searched for her. 

As he was about to leave, someone called his name. He turned, facing Nagito as the taller boy walked over. “Hey, I was wondering, if you’re going to investigate the rest of the building, could I come with you?” He asked. “I wanted to talk to a few people, but they’ll probably be on guard and not want to talk to someone alone.” 

Hajime shrugged. He should probably talk to other people too, and it would help to see if Nagito had figured anything else out. “Sure, if you want. Why me, though?” He asked curiously. 

“You’re easy to talk to, so maybe people might be more willing to talk with you around,” He chuckled, but it sounded forced. _Well,_ Hajime thought. _I’d be shocked if anyone felt genuinely happy after what happened._

He nodded, gesturing for Nagito to follow him as they left the hall. As they walked, he thought about what Izuru had said. The killer had clearly planned all of this. But who had the opportunity to do any of it? If they did it during the party, Byakuya would’ve noticed, and Nagito and Teruteru were in there all day, cleaning and cooking. **~~_(You’re missing something obvious there, Hajime, you_ know _it’s one of them, don’t try to deny it. The despair is so much better when you give into it.)_~~**

 _Shut up,_ he thought to himself, determinedly ignoring the thought. He couldn’t think like that, it was already hard enough to consider his classmates suspects, he couldn’t start picking out who he thought did it. 

Sighing, he looked up, shaking his head to clear his thoughts away. As he glanced up, he spotted Ibuki standing down the hall. “Hey Nagito, can we go talk to Ibuki? I wanted to know if she heard anything in the blackout.” 

“What’s this?” Ibuki said, bouncing towards them. “Ibuki heard her name!”

 _Wow, Izuru wasn’t joking when he said her hearing was insanely good. She heard me from all the way down the hall!_ “Yeah, I was wondering if you heard what happened during the blackout?” He asked. 

Ibuki clapped excitedly. “Ooh! Ibuki heard everything! Ibuki’s ears are super good!” 

“Could you tell us exactly what you heard? I couldn’t even tell who was talking,” Nagito asked. 

She nodded, giving them a strained smile. “Of course! Ibuki wants to be helpful!” She closed her eyes, frowning. “Hmm, hmm, lets’ see… Kazuichi screamed, and Ibuki asked what was going on! And then, and then, and then, Akane said she couldn’t see her food! And Mahiru said someone needed to turn the lights on! Then…” Her face fell. “Ibuki heard Hiyoko ask someone what they were doing, and there was a really loud crashing noise! And… She made a sound, like she was in pain,” Ibuki looked sad now. “Nagito said ‘ouch’, and Teruteru asked if the blackout was only in the kitchen. Byakuya said to stay calm, and then Kazuichi left the room to fix the breaker, and then the lights turned back on.” 

Nagito was pale. “So… you heard Hiyoko…” The words ‘die’ hung in the air like a noose. No one spoke, and Ibuki looked like she was going to cry. 

After a few seconds Ibuki grinned, though Hajime could tell it was fake. “How cool was that? Ibuki’s ears are awesome!” Her voice held only half of its’ usual enthusiasm. 

“It was truly amazing, as to be expected out of the Ultimate Musician,” Nagito said, smiling. “But… something about that was odd,” He frowned. “You said that Hiyoko asked someone what they were doing, and then there was a loud crash. What happened?”

Hajime scowled. “It probably has something to do with how she got under the table. Maybe the killer somehow shoved her under?” He suggested. _But then there is still no explanation for how they actually killed her. She was under the table when she got stabbed, so how did no one get blood on them? And how would the killer know where she was?_

_They most likely had something to keep the blood off of them as they killed her, like a cloth, or shield of some kind. As for knowing where she was, she had the night vision goggles, correct? So, she could have easily walked over to the table, and seen the killer try to take the knife._

_But then how did they hide it? Something like that would be easy to notice, right? So what did they do with it?_ Hajime sighed. _And if she walked over to where the killer was, how did the killer know where to even go to get the knife? The glowing paint was a mark, sure, but you’d only see that if you lifted up the tablecloth._

Hajime blinked, realizing that Nagito and Ibuki had finished their conversations, and Nagito was now frowning worriedly at him. “What’s wrong?” He asked. 

“Oh, its nothing, I was just trying to get your attention and you didn’t respond,” Nagito said, waving him off. 

“Oh,” He shrugged, and began walking down the hall. He needed to try and figure out where the killer put the devices that could’ve helped cause the blackout, and now he also had to figure out how the killer got to the table, what they used to block the blood, and how they’d even set it up with two people in the building all day. 

“Hajime! Nagito!” Sonia called, from down the hall. “I have a question! This part of the wall is made from a different material and is a different colour from the rest. What does that mean?” She asked curiously. 

“Oh, that’s a fire door,” Nagito explained. “You’ve never seen one?”

“No, I don’t believe we have them in my country.”

“They’re to seal off an area of a building in the case of a fire. It lets the people on the other side escape,” said Hajime. Sonia nodded, and her and Nagito talked for a few more seconds, but Hajime went ahead to the kitchen. Maybe something in here could have been used for the blackout? 

“Ah, Hajime!” Teruteru cried, smiling shakily. He looked shaken up, the same as everyone else. 

“Hey Teruteru,” he asked as a thought struck him. “Were you in the kitchen when the blackout happened?” 

“Why, yes!” he nodded. “I thought it was only in here, so I went out into the hall, but it was completely dark there too! But I heard your voices, and I found my way into the main hall as the lights turned on.”

The door opened, and Nagito came in. Hajime turned back to Teruteru, frowning. “Don’t you have a flashlight in here? Why didn’t you use that?” 

Teruteru froze, then laughed nervously. “I forgot about it in the panic, I suppose!” He shot a sharp look at Nagito, and Hajime frowned. 

“Okay… do you mind if we look around?” He asked. 

“N-not at all! Go ahead!” 

Hajime nodded, and began looking around. He had been in here with Hiyoko, minutes before she’d died… He sighed, glancing at the stove. _Byakuya said the flashlight was beside the stove, with the first aid kit…_ He walked over. On the floor, beside the stove, was the first aid kit, just like Byakuya said, but the flashlight was nowhere to be seen. Odd…

He straightened, scanning the room for any sign of the flashlight. His eyes fell on Teruteru and Nagito as he searched, and he frowned to himself. Nagito was smiling to himself, and looking around idly, and Teruteru was glaring at the tall boy with no small amount of venom. Nagito was either oblivious to it, or he just didn’t care, but either way it was definitely suspicious. Hajime was sudden;y stuck with the realization that he was in a room alone with the only two people who had the opportunity to set up the murder. 

_Stop it. Think about that later._ He ignored the chill that went down his spine, and continued looking for the flashlight. After a few minutes, he found it shoved into a cupboard, beside some plates, and cups. Frowning, he took it out, and looked it over. 

Then he froze. 

There was blood on the lens of the flashlight. 

***

After leaving the kitchen, Hajime was even more on edge. There had been _blood_ on the _fucking lens._ At first, he’d hoped that it was anything _but_ blood, but almost instantly, Izuru had confirmed that it was, in fact, blood. And despite the fact that Izuru clearly knew who was behind Monokuma, Hajime was inclined to trust him. They were sharing a body, after all, and Izuru was clearly much smarter than him. ** ~~_(Although, to be fair, everyone is. You’re not special compared to them, and you’ll never be! No matter how hard you try, you won’t ever reach their level.)_~~**

The fact that there was blood on a flashlight that no one besides him, Byakuya, and Teruteru knew about made things painfull narrowed down. It was logical, in a sharp and ruthless way, to suspect Teruteru, the only one of them who’d been in the building during the day. Sure, someone could have snuck in, but how could they have gotten past Nagito and Teruteru? And not to mention, there was the problem of the knife. Who put it there? Probably not Teruteru, seeing as Nagito was in that room all day. 

Sighing, he carried on, passing the storage room. He paused, and backtracked, opening the door. He glanced around, spotting three irons, plugged in, sitting on the ironing board. _Those must be what helped cause the blackout!_ He thought instantly, gasping.

He looked around more, curious to see if there was anything else in the storage room. He noticed an overflowing laundry bin full of white sheets. Tablecloths maybe? Nagito had mentioned that he’d gotten everything from the storage room. He stepped closer, his instincts telling him that there was more to the bin than he saw. Picking up the first few tablecloths, there was nothing, but as he lifted up the third, he nearly dropped them. 

He was right. There was more to it. Under all of the clothes, there was a third, that was covered in blood. What would this have been used for? Hajime frowned, remembering Izuru’s words. _The killer likely used a shield of some sort…_ This had to be it! Whoever killed her had used this to block the blood splatter. Just as he set them back down, there was a loud crash from behind him. 

“What the-!” Hajime jumped, whirling around to see Gundham crawling out from a trapdoor, cursing as he knocked several boxes over. “Gundham?!” 

“Ah! Hajime!” Gundham climbed out, and was about to speak, before Hajie interrupted him. 

“What were you doing down there? What _is_ down there? How’d you find it?” 

“S-so be it then!” Gundham stammered, clearly caught off guard by Hajime’s questioning. “I shall answer your questions! You see, during the feast, my hellhound earring fell beneath the floorboards! As the perilous investigation began, I traveled through the building, attempting to find a way to retrieve it!” 

_Oh my god, get on with it,_ Hajime thought to himself, sighing in annoyance. 

“As I entered this room, one of my four Dark Devas of Destruction perceived an object of interest in its chaos. I uncovered this very trapdoor, and travelled under the floorboards to acquire my lost hellhound earring.” He finished dramatically. 

Hajime sighed again. “So, you lost your earring and found the trapdoor here, and went under it to find it?” He frowned. “Okay… hang on. I’ll be right back.” He raced back to the kitchen as a thought struck him, as he grabbed the flashlight. Thankfully, only Nagito was there, and didn’t outwardly question him when he quickly left the room. 

When he entered the storage room again, he walked over to the trapdoor, and turned on the flashlight, ignoring the blood on the lens. He crouched beside the door, gathering a sense of how far down the crawlspace area was. There were no stairs, but it was only a short drop. 

“C’mon,” he gestured for Gundham to follow him. 

“Why is it necessary for me to accompany you?” 

Hajime shrugged. “Because you were down here before. Let’s go.”

With that, he hopped down, landing in a crouch. He shone the flashlight around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, until he found a pool of blood far away. “Shit,” he swore, scowling. “Gundham, did you see this earlier?” 

“I did not,” the other boy looked shocked. “I was only under here for a few moments, and I was about to leave to obtain a light source when you found me.” 

Hajime nodded, and moved forwards, towards the blood. As he neared, he realized that he could see very faint light coming in through the huge gaps in the floorboards. _I wonder why that is?_

_It’s because the carpet in the main hall doesn’t cover the whole floor. And the parts it doesn’t cover are mostly blocked by the tables. This is where Hiyoko was killed._

_No shit, Sherlock, obviously, she was killed right above us, I can see the huge pool of blood on the floor._

_No, I mean this is where the killer did it. If you aren’t going to listen to me, I am not going to provide any more insight._

_What do you mean, this is where the killer-_ Oh. _Oh._ “Fuck,” He muttered. 

He understood now. But _fuck,_ he wished he didn’t. There was only one person who could have done it. _God DAMN it._

_It looks like we can see the glowing paint too, that is likely what the true killer used._

_True_ killer? So that meant…. No, _no,_ that had to be a lie. There was no way. It wasn’t possible. **~~_(Anything's possible, hun, you’re living proof of that. You seriously can’t accept it? Jesus Hajime, you’re so_ pathetic, _just give in already! You know who did it, who know who helped, you’re just too chickenshit to accept it like the little hope-ridden idiot you are.)_~~**

He knew who the real killer was. 

He just didn’t want to believe it. 

***

Hajime walked outside, scowling. After the revelation he’d had under the floorboards, he’d left as quickly as possible, ending up outside. Staying under the floorboards felt suffocating in a way that he never wanted to experience again. 

He breathed a sigh of relief, and slumped against the wall. The investigation was so damn _exhausting,_ and he barely felt like he was connected to reality at this point. It was probably the sleep deprivation combined with the shock and stress of the situation, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered right now was that Hiyoko was _dead,_ and he knew who did it. 

Well, he thought he did. Most of the evidence so far pointed at two people, and the flashlight, and the crawlspace under the floorboards narrowed it down to the one. There was other evidence, evidence that fit with the rest, but that could be dismissed at this point. Now, his concern was getting the rest of the class to believe him. 

“Hajime? What’re you doing out here?” Hajime blinked, and looked up. Chiaki had walked up to him, and was waving a hand in his face. 

“Sorry, I was just getting some air,” he mumbled, looking away awkwardly. 

Chiaki nodded, looking back at the building sadly. “I haven’t been inside since Byakuya came out to tell me what happened. I don’t want to believe it, you know?” 

Hajime knew how she felt. “Yeah, I didn’t at first either. But, I guess, since you were outside, that means you’re off the suspect list?” He chuckled bitterly, glaring at the floor. 

“Oh! Speaking of the suspects, we can cross Fuyuhiko off!” Chiaki said. “He came around, and I think he wanted to join the party, but… once he saw me he got embarrassed and left.” 

He almost wanted to laugh. _Oh, don’t worry about it, I already know who it was!_ Now wouldn’t _that_ be shocking? She probably wouldn’t even believe him, anyways. “Oh… thanks.” he said instead, attempting to smile. 

Chiaki beamed, and walked off, muttering to herself. Hajime groaned, putting his head in his hands. Why couldn’t this just be over already? He didn’t want to suspect his classmates, he didn’t want to let the doubt sneak into his mind and fester until it was too late, and he already knew who’d killed one of their friends. He didn’t want _any_ of this to happen. 

And yet, it’d happened anyway. 

“Hajime.” He recognized that voice. Byakuya. He looked up at the other boy blankly. “Come with me. I require your presence.”

Hajime simply sighed, and stood up ( _When had he sat down?)_ to follow him. Byakuya led him to his cottage, and as he opened the door, Hajime felt his curiosity spike. No matter how tired, or how emotionally drained he was, he still wanted to know why Byakuya had dragged him to his cottage. 

Walking inside, he barely noticed the lavish decorations as he followed Byakuya. What he did notice was the envelope that sat on the table, the very envelope that Byakuya picked up and opened. 

“This morning, I woke up to this in my mailbox,” he said, handing the contents to Hajime. “This was the reason I chose to throw the party.” Hajime looked up sharply. He’d almost forgotten about that after what’d happened that night. 

Cautiously, he took the single paper that had been inside the envelope, and looked down at it. ‘ _THE FIRST MURDER WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT. BEWARE.’_ He gasped, glancing up at Byakuya. _This_ was why he’d thrown the party? Someone had sent him this letter, clearly trying to manipulate his actions. 

_And I think we both know who sent it._ Izuru sighed. 

_Shut up. I won’t believe it._

_You have to accept it sooner or later, you know. It will only do you more damage in the long run._

_Until then, I can continue being as completely ignorant as I want._

Hajime felt Izuru’s annoyance, but purposefully ignored it. _Very well, do what you want. I cannot help you if you do not want it._

Hajime squeezed his eyes shut, trying to forget how cold Izuru’s tone had been. As much as he hated to admit it, he was right. He couldn’t continue ignoring the evidence. Hiyoko had been _killed,_ he couldn’t deny her justice if he was acting as cowardly as he was now. 

“Okay,” he took a deep breath, straightening. He looked up at Byakuya and _really_ looked at him. He looked miserable, pale, and horrified all at once. It was a miracle that he was still acting as professionally as he could, and hadn’t completely broken down. “Are you all right?”

Byakuya scowled, looking to the side. “I… I had promised that no one would die on my watch. How would you feel if you broke that promise?” He met Hajime’s eyes, full of guilt and fear. A second later, and the mask was back on, and his face hardened. “Now that I have shown you this note, I will be on my way.” He briskly walked out of the cottage, not looking back once. 

Just as Hajime had left the cottage, the monitors crackled to life, and Monokuma’s face appeared. “ _That’s right! It’s time for the long-awaited class trial! Now, I want all of you brats to proceed to the central island, and gather around Monokuma Rock! When you’re all there, the underground elevator will activate, and you’ll all be taken to meet your fates! See you later!”_ He laughed, and then the video cut out. 

Hajime tensed. The trial was happening…He almost found himself bracing himself to run, but at the last moment he stopped himself. He had to do this. If not for Hiyoko, for himself, for all of them. He couldn’t back down, not now. **~~_(Not when you’re the only one who knows exactly who it is! Isn’t it soooooo despair-inducing to be so painfully smart?)_~~**

Absentmindedly, he realized that it was very pretty out, the sky clear and the stars shining. _And this could possibly be the last time I see them._ He thought grimly. If they picked the wrong person… Hajime didn’t want to think about that. 

After a few minutes, Hajime reached the central island, spotting the rest of his classmates standing around in relative silence. Awkwardly, he stood near them, waiting for everyone else to show up. No one spoke, all of them exchanging wary glances, and shifting nervously. 

“Let me fucking _go,_ you peice of shit!” Someone shouted, and Hajime did a double take. Mnokuma was dragging Fuyuhiko over to them. “Let me _go!”_ the short boy protested, before Monokuma threw him at the rest of the group. 

“Where the hell have you been?” Mahiru asked, glaring at him. “I heard you didn’t even help with the investigation.”

“Tch,” Fuyuhiko sneered. “None of your fuckin’ buisness, bitch. It doesn’t matter where I was.” 

“What’s _wrong_ with you? We’ve all been helping, and trying to figure out who- Who k-killed Hiyoko. None of us wanted to do it, but we did it anyways!” 

“Mahiru, Fuyuhiko,” Nagito’s voice cut through the argument. Hajime flinched. “We shouldn’t fight, especially not right now. We need to find out who killed her, so all of us survive.”

~~ **_(Liar)_ ** ~~

“Holy shit, you kids really don’t know how to shut up, do you?” Monokuma interrupted. “Come on, I’ve got the trial room waiting for ya, I’ve cooked up the whole shebang, podiums and all. So hurry it up!” With that he disappeared, and left the rest of them looking around nervously. 

Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling noise, and one of the gigantic Monokuma statues carved into the rock’s mouth opened, clearly wanting them to enter it. Hajime jumped, but was too exhausted to give any other reaction, though the rest of the group’s reactions varied from vaguely shocked to outright hysterical. 

“Time to go, I guess,” he muttered to himself, walking forward, nearly shaking from the anxiety. Everyone followed him, and soon enough, they were all piled into the elevator. Before anyone could react, the suddenly dropped, and the elevator began to descend. 

As they descended, the loud noises of the elevator faded into the background. Hajime prepared himself as best he could, waiting for the elevator to stop. 

_Izuru?_ He asked quietly. He didn’t have a question, just reaching out for the smallest bit of comfort. 

_Yes._ Izuru replied, and wordlessly reached out, and touched Hajime’s mind, the steady calmness of his mind grounding him as the elevator lowered deeper and deeper into the earth. 

Then, it jerked to a halt. Hajime watched, heart in his throat. 

Then, the doors opened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as some of you have probably noticed, i now have a chapter count. I figued it out by splitting every chapter of the game into 4 parts, for the motive, killing, investigation, and trial. The chapters are gonna be long, especially the ones that have multiple days in it, so I'm gonna try updating every two weeks or so? Dont hold me to that lmao.  
> Also, as some of you probably havent noticed, I added chapter titles!! Ahahaha i totally didn't obsess over making them all spell out a statement. every four chapters sort of spells out a few sentences.  
> Also, also, also. In the trials, I'm probably going to cut certain parts out because they were unnecessary, or something along those lines. I got really annoyed at how sometimes, they didn't say what they really meant in the trials *cough Chiaki and the floorboards cough* and plus, they've got Izuru basically telling Hajime certain things so like a lot of it'll be them NOT going in circles for the first half of the trial.  
> Oh, and, I've made them all a bit more upset about hiyoko dying, because it lowkey annoyed me that in the game, none of them seemed to even care when one of their friends died. Like, ik they did, but i wanted them to show it a bit more here.


	8. Ch. 7: (you can't) Listen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial begins, a suspect emerges, and it's revealed that someone isn't exactly who they think he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: talk of blood, murder, and general danganronpa trial stuff. There's an execution at the end too, so watch out for that.  
> I'm so sorry for the small hiatus there, motivation is fuckin HARD to find, and trials are hard to write lmao. Happy late holidays, I hope yall are safe and happy!

Hajime didn’t want to do this. 

God _damn_ it, he really didn’t want to do this. 

But, as he stared at the court room in a combination of awe and horror, he was reminded, once again, that he had no choice. None of them did. They were all at the mercy of whoever was controlling Monokuma. 

_Whoever the fuck caused this, I hope you’re happy._ He thought bitterly. 

“Welcome, welcome!” Monokuma bounced gleefully into view, clapping excitedly. “So, whaddya think? This is my very special class trial court room, designed for all of you!”

Fuyuhiko barked out a laugh, glaring at the small bear. “You’re fucking crazy. This is all bullshit.”

“Well, let’s not waste any more time! Let's get straight to the despair!” Monokuma laughed. “Hurry up now, you’re names are attached to the podiums!” 

Hajime took a deep breath, clinging to the remaining comfort that Izuru’s presence gave him as he walked to his podium. They were really about to do this. They were about to try to expose Hiyoko’s killer. How was he supposed to do this?

If he said outright who the killer was, no one would believe him. He’d have to work his way through the evidence first, before he could reveal who the killer was. _And besides,_ he thought grimly. _Saying too much will paint a target on my back, as much as I hate to admit it._ If he revealed that he knew everything before the trial even properly began, the next time someone killed, they would likely go for him, seeing him as a threat. 

**_ ~~(Always so selfish, Hajime! Just by thinking that, you're admitting to thinking that another murder is going to happen. So despairful, isn't it?)~~ _ **

“Now!” Monokuma began once everyone found their podiums. “Let’s go over the rules of the class trial! During this trial, you’ll all present your arguments for who the killer is, and eventually vote for whoever you think did it! If you vote correctly, then only the blackened will receive punishment, but if you pick the wrong person, I get to punish everyone else, and the killer gets to leave this island!”

“Before we start, I want to confirm something,” Nagito asked suddenly. “Is the killer actually one of us?” 

“Why, of course they are!” Monokuma grinned evilly. “So sad, isn’t it? But, but, but, this class trial is 100% fair, so you all can relax, you know. Now then! Let’s begin!”

Everyone was silent for a few seconds, before Mikan spoke up quietly. “Y-you say we ha-have to start, but… what exactly a-are we supposed to do?” 

“I mean, we could just settle this with our fists,” Akane shrugged, grinning. 

Kazuichi threw his hands up in the air. “No we can’t! Haven’t you listened to the rules?”

“The little bitch was killed in the dining hall at that building right?” Fuyuhiko asked, looking around. “Then everyone there is a suspect.”

“We aren’t thinking about suspects yet,” Hajime interrupted him, frowning. “We need to talk about more important things first.”

“Like what?” Teruteru asked, and Hajime tensed. 

“Maybe like the placement of the body?” Nagito suggested. “We could start with that.”

“You mean, like how she got under the table?” Kazuichi asked. 

“Ooh, ooh!” Ibuki jumped up and down. “Maybe the killer moved her under there to hide the body!”

Hajime shook his head. “No, that can’t be what happened,” he explained. “There was a lot of blood, right? But it was only under the table.”

“Yeah, if they moved her, there’d be a trail of blood,” Mahiru said thoughtfully. “But if that’s true, why was she under there in the first place?”

 _All they are going to do is go in circles until someone brings up something useful. It’ll take too long, Monokuma will get bored. _Izuru pointed out sighing. 

_What am I supposed to do, then?_ Hajime asked helplessly, some of his desperation leaking into his tone. 

_You have to reveal the truth, as painful as it might be._ Izuru said, sounding almost remorseful. _I know you were worried about becoming a target, but remember that I could be the victor in any fight that might occur here. We do not need to worry about that._ As much as Hajime hated it, Izuru’s use of the word ‘we’ made him feel better. 

“The murder likely took place under the table,” Hajime said, cutting through the arguments about wy Hiyoko had been under the table. “During the investigation, I found a knife taped to the underside of that table. Hiyoko must have seen the killer try to take it.”

“Oh, the knife that was _totally_ the murder weapon?” Ibuki perked up. 

“The killer may have gone for the knife, yes,” Gundham said, frowning. “But, how did Hiyoko become aware of it?” 

“True,” Chiaki agreed. “She can’t have known about it beforehand.”

“If she had, she would have told me, and I would have confiscated it,” Byakuya said, scowling. “It is unlikely that anyone else knew about it, then.” 

“Perhaps she saw whoever it was trying to take it at that moment, then.” Sonia suggested. 

“No, that’s not possible,” Peko said firmly. “The only time the killer could take that knife would be during the blackout, but no one could see anything.”

 _God, did anyone actually investigate?_ Hajime wondered for a brief second, before correcting Peko. “Actually, she had night vision goggles near her. She probably saw the killer take the knife during the blackout with them, and tried to stop them.”

Peko flushed, turning away. “I apologize, I didn’t investigate the dining hall.”

“Wait, hang on!” Kazuichi exclaimed, frowning. “That doesn’t make any sense. How do we know for sure that it wasn’t actually the killer who used them?”

Hajime sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was getting really annoying to have to explain what had happened to everyone. “Because, right before she died, she was holding the night vision goggles after Byakuya handed them to her.”

“I can confirm that,” Byakuya agreed. “I opened the case to put in the missing skewer that Hajime and Hiyoko had found, and just as I had handed the goggles to Hiyoko, the power went out.”

“Why did you even have the night vision goggles, though?” Mahiru asked curiously. “I mean, you were being really cautious about _everything_ at that party, but still.”

“Yeah, Ibuki thinks it’s really suspicious!” Ibuki yelled, glaring at Byakuya.

“That is true…” Sonia frowned, looking down. “Now that I think about it, it is quite odd to be as cautious as you were.”

Hajime glanced at Byakuya, making eye contact. The taller boy sighed, pulling out the sheet of paper. “This is why.” 

“A note?” Sonia asked curiously. “What does that have to do with our investigation?” 

Byakuya sighed. “It says, ‘The first murder will happen tonight. Beware.’ I received this note in my mailbox before I went to the restaurant.”

“Oooh, so that’s why you decided to throw a party! Ibuki understands now!” 

“Hold on a sec,” Fuyuhiko spoke up, frowning. “How do we know that this is even real? For all we know, he could’ve faked it!” 

“But why would he do that?” Hajime countered. “He has no reason to lie about it,”

“Hell yeah he does, he could be the killer!”

Before Hajime spoke, Izuru’s frustration rose to a boiling point, and he shoved Hajime out of control.“That would not make any sense, Hiyoko died directly under the table, across the room from Byakuya. He would not have any time to run over there to kill her when he could not see anything, and rush back without Ibuki hearing him. Additionally, he is wearing a _white suit,_ we would be able to spot the blood on him a mile away.” As quickly as he took control, he handed it back to Hajime. He hadn’t expected Izuru to suddenly intervene, nor verbally destroy Fuyuhiko in a ruthless onslaught of logic. 

_Where did that come from?_ He asked, completely bewildered. 

Izuru’s frustration had simmered down after the outburst, though Hajime could tell he was still annoyed. _I was tired of them going in circles._ He answered, almost shyly. _And I detest it when someone ignores obvious evidence._

_I mean, if you do that a few more times, you’ll have the trial done in minutes._

_You could easily do that too, we both know who the killer is._

Hajime scowled. _Don’t remind me._

“Jesus, okay,” Mahiru said after a few seconds of silence. “I guess we can rule Byakuya out.”

“Anyways,” Byakuya cleared his throat. “When I opened it, I knew that I had to do something to prevent a killing, hence, the party and body checks.”

“Which was likely part of the senders’ plan. By saying that you’d received a warning like that, it’d cause mass panic, right? So, whoever sent it knew that you’d keep it to yourself, and we can guess that they knew you’d want everyone gathered in one place.” Hajime said mostly to himself, putting the pieces together as he spoke. 

“Okay, well, who sent it?” Teruteru asked. 

There was silence for a few seconds, no one wanting to voice what everyone was thinking. 

“Well… the killer, obviously,” Mahiru said, looking down. 

_Not necessarily, though,_ Hajime thought, frowning. _There are two people who were directly involved with killing Hiyoko. The more likely one to send it, though, is… Nagito._ He glanced at the white haired boy, studying his expression. There wasn’t a hint of nervousness, nor any sign of his involvement. He turned to look at the second, the one who’d actually been the one to murder her. 

Teruteru looked guilty. 

He was constantly glancing at Nagito, his anxiety clear. It was obvious to anyone who was looking, that Teruteru felt guilty about _something._ It just depended if the person who was looking knew if he had just committed murder or not. 

**_ ~~(But shouldn't he feel guilty? He just murdered your friend, he deserves to feel the guilt and horror and~~ _ ~~despair _that comes with it, don'cha think?)_~~ **

“Excuse me…” Sonia spoke up nervously. “I have a question.”

“Go ahead, what is it?” Kazuichi asked eagerly. 

“Well… I would like to return to a previous point that was made,” She glanced at Hajime. “We know now that Hiyoko could see, but what about the killer? They would have no way to navigate in the dark.” 

“Yeah, that’s true…” Chiaki frowned. “They could’ve used some type of mark? Maybe…” 

Hajime nodded. “There was a mark. The glowing paint that was on the tape and the knife glows in the dark, they used that to find it.”

“B-but, if th-they used glow-in-the-dark paint… th-that seems l-like the killer knew a-about the b-blackout!” Mikan said quietly, clasping her hands together. 

“Maybe they did!” Kazuichi exclaimed suddenly. “The breaker could’ve been messed with, and that means, whoever was in the office is the killer!” He pointed at Peko, grinning vindictively. “That means you, Peko!” 

Hajime frowned, glancing at Peko, who was frozen in shock. It was unlikely that Peko was actually involved, and if Kazuichi had thought about it for a few more seconds, he’d have realized it too. 

_That’s the problem with them. They blurt out whatever comes to mind, and don’t even bother thinking about it for more than two seconds._

_You could be nicer about it._

_You were thinking the exact same thing._

Hajime groaned internally, and refocused on the argument that was happening in front of him. 

“Peko isn’t tall enough to reach the fusebox in the office!” Mahiru scowled at Kazuichi from across the courtroom. 

“Th-that doesn’t matter! She totally caused the blackout!”

“A-actually, that’s impossible…” Peko interrupted him, slightly flushed. 

“Why?!”

“Because I wasn't in the office. Even before the blackout occurred.” 

Hajime raised an eyebrow. Why wouldn’t she be in the office, especially when she had a whole case of weapons to guard? It didn’t make sense, but if she wasn’t there, then they could actually focus on what really mattered. 

“What? Why not?” 

Apparently not, then. 

“Well…” She looked down, clearly embarrassed. 

“She was in the bathroom” Nekomaru laughed, and Peko flushed an even deeper red. “She was in there the whole time! I kept trying to go during the party, but she kept the door locked! After we left to investigate, I caught her coming out of the bathroom.”

Mahiru sputtered for a few seconds, before yelling at Nekomaru. “You-you don’t just _say_ that, you idiot! Jesus, it’s like you all were raised in a locker room!” 

“Anyways,” Chiaki said, giving both of them a silencing glare. “Now that we know it wasn’t Peko, we should talk about how the killer did set up the blackout… I think.”

“Maybe they used a remote control?” Kazuichi suggested.

“Eh, Monokuma probably did it.” Akane shrugged. 

“No, that doesn’t make sense. They might’ve used up too much power… maybe.” Chiaki said, glancing at Hajime. 

Hajime nodded. “What Chiaki suggested is the most likely. When I went to the storage room, there were two irons plugged in for no reason. They probably helped cause the blackout,” He explained. 

“Wait a second, that can’t be all!” Nekomaru yelled. “The irons on their own can’t cause a blackout!” 

Hajime sighed. _If you would let me talk, I’d explain that it wasn’t just the irons._ He kept the snarky thought to himself, and continued much more politely. “They weren’t the only cause. I said that they _helped_ cause the blackout, not that they caused the blackout on their own. The irons used up a decent amount of the power, but it was the air conditioners that were the final trigger.”

“The air conditioners?”

“Yeah, in the main hall, the air conditioner was set to turn on at 11:30, one minute before Hiyoko died. Remember that beeping noise that happened right before the blackout? That was the air conditioners turning on.” 

“So, the killer must have investigated the old building before the party, to be able to set all of that up,” Nagito concluded. 

Hajime frowned. _Is he_ trying _to get caught? If he keeps saying stuff like that, it’ll only be a matter of time before people realize that he was the one to set the murder up! Unless… that’s exactly what he wants. If people focus on him, they’ll forget about Teruteru, and they’ll vote for the wrong person!_ His breathing quickened. _Why is he doing this? He could just tell everyone that Teruteru did it!_

 _Calm down. _Izuru’s voice cut through the haze of panic and worry. _Now is not the time to panic, you can think about Nagito’s motivations after the trial._

Hajime nodded to himself, taking a deep breath. Izuru was right, it wasn’t the time to freak out. He had to focus. 

“Maybe the killer asked Monokuma about the power supply?” Chiaki suggested, glancing towards the bear. 

Monokuma gasped mockingly. “Oh no! I’ve been found out!” 

“So…” Peko said. “I would not have been able to stop the blackout from occurring, even if I was in the office.”

“It would’ve been impossible for you to reset the breaker, even if it wasn’t pitch black.” Nagito said. 

“Geez, we’ve been talkin’ for so long, and we still haven’t found out who the killer is!” Akane grumbled, shaking her head. 

“There’s no need to worry about it,” Nagito spoke calmly. “I mean… they’re just some petty killer, right? There’s no way that they can stand up to the symbols of hope!” 

_Wait, what?_

“There’s no way you guys can lose here. In the end, hope will win. I have full confidence in that.” Nagito smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. His body language was unreadable. 

Hajime began to feel dread forming a pit in his stomach, just like it had before Hiyoko died. “Nagito… what’re you talking about?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” He met Hajime’s eyes innocently. 

“Up until now, you were saying how the killer couldn’t be one of us… so-”

“Oh, did I?” He casually dismissed Hajime’s words, and continued. “Anyways, I think we should focus on the case. We know the blackout was a setup, and we know _how_ they did it… but we still don’t know who,” He looked around. “Anyone could’ve set up the irons. Same for the air conditioners… hmm, that’s a problem. Any one of us could’ve done it.” 

“What the fuck are you trying to say?” Fuyuhiko demanded, slamming a fist down on his podium. 

“I-I think he’s t-trying to say that… a-after all this talking, we- we still don’t know that m-much.” Mikan said quietly. 

“Unfortunately, it’s the truth” Nagito shrugged. “Even with all the time we’ve had… we still haven’t found a single clue leading to the culprit. But… that’s only natural, right? I mean, there’s no way there’s a killer among us!” 

“Y-you’re changing your mind again?” Hajime asked incredulously. 

“Anyway,” Nagito ignored him again. “I have a question for everyone. Haven’t you ever felt like it was better to die trusting your friends, rather than live suspecting them?”

“Y-you mean we should give up and die?!” Ibuki exclaimed. 

“Nagito, what the hell is wrong with you?” _What is he doing?_ Hajime thought angrily. 

**_ ~~(Of course you don't know what he's doing, you're never smart enough to see the big picture!)~~ _ **

“It’s not about what’s wrong with me, it’s about what’s wrong with _you,_ ” Nagito’s expression turned from carefree and earnest to worried and desperate within a second. “Suspecting each other like this… We all keep blaming and accusing one another! We should just stop! We’re all friends, right? I don’t want to do this to my friends!”

“I-I don’t like it either…” Teruteru muttered. 

“M-me too,” Mikan whimpered, close to tears. “I just want to g-go home!”

Mahiru desperately tried to regain control of the situation. “St-stop it! If everyone keeps- If everyone acts like- I’m gonna-” 

“Calm down!” Hajime cut her off, glancing around at everyone. 

“We’re _friends._ There’s no way someone murder their own _friend?”_ Nagito protested. 

“Then why is Hiyoko dead?” Hajime said flatly.

_You need to stop him. He’s causing a panic, and if someone doesn’t stop it, he’ll manipulate everyone into giving up._

_How am I supposed to do that?! No one is listening!_

“Who _cares_ why?”

Make _them listen then. You have to do_ something. 

“There isn’t a single clue that points to who the killer is!”

 **_“No.”_ ** _That’s wrong._

“Hmm?” Nagito glanced at Hajime curiously. “Did you say something?” 

Hajime glared at him from across the court room. “There _are_ clues that lead to the killer.”

“You know who they are?” Akane gapsed. 

“Hajime’s right,” Chiaki said quietly. “We need to think about how the killer got the knife in the blackout.”

“But didn’t we already discuss how they used the glowing paint?” Gundham frowned. 

“Well, yes, but… there’s a bit more to it than that, probably. What happened before that?”

Hajime smiled slightly. It seemed like Chiaki had also started to figure it out. “Mahiru?” He turned to face the redhead. “Can we see the diagram you drew of where everyone was before the blackout?” 

“What diagram are you talking about?” Byakuya asked. 

“Well, I was talking pictures during the party, and I realized that if I drew a diagram of where everyone was based on the pictures, it might be able to help the investigation,” she explained, pulling out the folded paper and handing it to Hajime. 

As he examined the diagram, all the pieces clicked in place. Before, he hadn’t known a few key pieces of evidence, but after looking at this, it all finally made sense. 

_So that’s how he did it,_ He thought to himself. _The only thing to wonder now… is why?_

~~ **_(That's the big question, isn't it? But are you really sure you're ready to hear the truth?)_ ** ~~

“The killer used the lamp on the table to find their way to the knife.” He said with conviction that he’d previously lacked. 

“What? But the power was out!” Kazuichi protested. 

“Not the light. The _cord,”_ Hajime turned and met Nagito’s eyes. “Isn’t that right, Nagito?”

The boy in question smirked, raising an eyebrow. “I have no idea what you mean.” 

“The only person standing close enough to the power cord is Nagito, see?” He held up the diagram, pointing to Nagito’s name right next to the lamp’s power cord. “That means, he was the only one that could have used it. He was also in the building, cleaning up, before the party. He had plenty of time to set up the knife.”

“T-that’s just a coincidence!” The other boy gave a strained chuckle. 

“If it was just one… you’d be fine,” Chiaki said slowly, staring at Nagito with an unreadable expression. “But when it’s two that are this important? Does that sort of coincidence really exist?” 

“Now that you mention it, Nagito was the one who suggested to draw lots for cleaning duty,” Mahiru pointed out.

“It’s all a coincidence!” Nagito insisted, growing paler by the second. 

“And that weird speech you gave earlier… was that part of your plan too?!” Nekomaru demanded. 

“There’s the possibility that he is not the culprit, but there is a great deal of evidence against him,” Byakuya said thoughtfully. 

Hajime watched as Nagito nervously glanced around, completely silent. “Nagito,” He said lowly. “Say something. You got someone killed, the least you can do is _say something!”_ All of his anger, all of his fear and frustration and sadness seeped into his voice, and he was glaring at Nagito from across the court room, betrayal shining in his eyes.

_Why did you do it? Why did you let Teruteru kill her? Why didn’t you tell us?_

~~ **_(Aww, it's so cute that you're upset about a so-called friend betraying you? Honestly, what did you expect?)_ ** ~~

Suddenly, a sound rang out through the courtroom, and Hajime's thoughts ground to a halt. Slowly, he looked back up _(when had he looked away?),_ and froze at what he saw.

Nagito was _laughing._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooo  
> Next up: Nagito goes on a hope rant, and the second part of the trial is gonna happen!  
> thoughts on the trial so far?  
> OOH, so important!! For those of you who didn't notice, this work is not part of a series!! The second story, Would You Save Us, is basically a series of oneshots that happen during this fic, that mainly consist of character interaction, alternate povs, etc that add to this story!! You can make requests, as well, as long as they don't affect the overall story too much!! I'd really appreciate it if you went and checked it out, it'll add a lot to this fic if you do! :)  
> message me on insta @demonic_crocs!


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